


Nothing Is Right When You're Pretending

by stumak7397



Category: Glee
Genre: F/F, Faberry, brittana
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-05-14 21:23:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 86,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5759347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stumak7397/pseuds/stumak7397
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before Regional junior year, Rachel and Quinn are supposed to write an original song together. What happens when Rachel reveals a little more than she means to during their fight? Rated M for future chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.  
I don’t have a beta so all mistakes are mine.

A/N: Some of this story will follow Cannon but mostly just in some of the events that happened, not exactly how they happened. It is my AU on how I see things going from this point in the show.

 

Rachel walked down the hall heading to the auditorium to meet Quinn to work on their song for Regionals. Lost in thought, she couldn’t get what she had seen in the hall out of her head. This couldn’t be happening, they couldn’t be back together after all she did to keep them apart. She needed to know for sure if it was true or if she was making it up in her mind. Deciding to just come right out and ask, she entered the auditorium stage and found Quinn already at the piano. 

Quinn looked up at her as she approached. “You’re late.”

She wanted to get it out of the way so she just came out with it. “We’re friends right?”

Quinn just looked at her softly. “Yea, I guess so.”

“I mean everything that happened last year and when you gave your baby to my mom; we kind of bonded over that right?”

“What’s your point Rachel?”

“My point is that I know we don’t spend a lot of time together, but I thought that we were close enough that we can be honest with each other.”

Quinn sighed. “Go ahead and just ask me.”

Rachel looked down for a moment then looked into her eyes. “Are you and Finn back together?”

“Yes, for a couple of weeks now. It’s like ground hogs day with you Rachel, how many times do you have to make the same mistake to realize it’s not going to work out?”

Rachel’s heart dropped into her stomach and the air left her lungs. “Thank you for being honest with me Quinn but don’t go rewriting history. He’s not really into you for the right reasons. I mean he chose me over you before.”

“How long did that last for?” She bit back harshly.

Rachel sighed, “You don’t have to be mean, I just…”

Quinn stood and walked over to her cutting her off. “Do you want to know how this story plays out? I get Finn and you get heartbroken. Finn and I stay here and start a family.” She paused, tears gathering in her eyes. “I become a successful real estate agent and Finn will take over Burt’s tire shop. You don’t belong here Rachel and you can’t hate me for helping to send you on your way.”

Rachel shook her head and spoke more to herself. “I’m not giving up, this isn’t over.”

Quinn slammed her hand on the piano getting more upset. “Yes it is, you’re so frustrating. This is why you can’t write a good song because you live in this school girl’s fantasy. If you keep looking for that happy ending with Finn, you are never going to get it right. That’s that so let’s just return to our work.”

“You just don’t get it. You never have. I’m not concerned with Finn. All I care about is you. You need to stop living in this screwed up reality you have created for yourself. Damn it Quinn, you are worth so much more then settling for this backwards town and not finding your own dream away from here. I don’t give a damn about Finn but you need to get out of this repressed town and live your own life and not the cookie cutter life your parents have set out for you.”

Quinn just sat there stunned at her words and Rachel took a deep breath. “You are worth so much more than you give yourself credit for. You can have an amazing life outside of this fishbowl of a town. You need to stop settling for a boy whose main concern in life is his image, getting laid and has no goals for his own life. 

Rachel shook her head and places her hands on the piano. “Don’t you see? You need to stop selling yourself short and believe in yourself the way I believe in you. You can do so much better than him Quinn. You could go to school in New York, become a successful lawyer, doctor, actress or whatever you set your mind to. Find someone who is worthy of you and that can love you for the amazing person that I know you are. That sure as hell isn’t Finn Hudson. That boy is not good enough for me and he’s definitely not good enough for you.”

Rachel takes a moment to compose herself then gathered her things. “I think I’m going to write this song on my own.” She turns and exits the stage quickly.

Quinn watches her leave speechless at the impassioned speech that just fell out of Rachel’s mouth. Shaking herself out of her daze she looks down as tears start to fall. No one has ever said anything like that to her before. Rachel believed in her. After all that she had put the girl through the last few years, she still saw only the good in her. It was overwhelming.

After a moment she wiped her eyes and shook her head. She couldn’t afford to let Rachel’s words affect her. She needed to stay strong or run the risk of losing everything again. Once fully composed she ran her hands along the piano keys. She would need to keep her distance from Rachel. She couldn’t be tempted to be weakened by her. No matter the feeling coursing through her at Rachel’s words. She had to stay strong.

Once home, Rachel found the house empty, but it was always empty. Her fathers were rarely home. Always away on business, sometimes not returning for months at a time. She trudged up the stairs to her room and laid on her stomach on the bed with her notebook in front of her and her portable keyboard next to her.

She wrote down everything that was pouring out of her through tear filled eyes. How could she be so stupid to unload all of that on Quinn? She never meant to reveal that much to the blonde. The girl barely tolerated her and didn’t need any further ammunition against her. 

She had successfully kept her feelings hidden for years and by extension her sexuality. Dating Finn was just a means to an end and further solidified what people would think of her. It wasn’t that she was ashamed to be a lesbian. It was just that people had enough to bully her about and she wasn’t about to add fuel to the fire when there was nothing positive for her in it. She couldn’t have who she wanted, so coming out was pointless. She could only hope that Quinn would take what she said as a friend being concerned.

She finally stopped writing and sat up bringing the keyboard into her lap. She sang the words while adding music to them and writing it on a blank music sheet. Once finished, she sat and sang the completed song with music and smiled. This would definitely be the best song she had ever composed and she was sure it could be better with a little added music. Drums, guitar, maybe a violin or two. She could hear it in her head; she just didn’t know how to make it happen. She needed help.

Getting up, she walked over to her bag that she had dropped on the floor and took out her phone. She scrolled through her contacts and debated for a moment as to whether calling her would be a wise choice. She knew that they weren’t friends exactly, but they were no longer enemies either.

She pressed send, figuring the worst that could happen was being told no. On the third ring the call was answered. “Look Hobbit, I don’t know why your calling me, but it better be damn good.”

Rachel sighed. “Santana I apologize for disturbing your evening, but I really need your help.”

Santana was silent for so long Rachel thought she may have hung up, but then she finally answered. “Just because of what happened the other day, doesn’t mean you can just call and ask for help anytime you want.”

Rachel wiped the tears that had never fully stopped. “I wasn’t even thinking about that. I just know that you are good at music mixing and I just finished a song I think may work for the solo and I need help with the music arrangement. All I have worked out is the piano for it and it needs more. I know you’re the best with this, that’s why I called.”

Santana scoffed. “Please tell me you didn’t write a song about your skirts this time, and I thought you and Quinn were working on this together.”

Rachel sniffed. “That didn’t work out and no it’s not about my clothing. Please Santana, you can listen to what I have and if you don’t like it, you can just leave. But, I really think I have something here.”

San sighed. “Fine, but if I am working I expect food. I wants pepperoni pizza and mountain dew. Order it.” With that she hung up.

Rachel deflated into her desk chair and worked to calm herself. After a moment she called to order the pizza for delivery and gathered her things to go downstairs to the piano in the den.

Once Santana hung up the phone, she leaned back into her bed for a moment. She could tell that the Diva had been crying and hated that it affected her. Rachel was still a sore spot with her after last Friday, and she really didn’t want to get into a conversation about any of that.

*Flashback*  
Santana sat in the back of the auditorium on the floor crying after leaving Brittany in the hall. She had just poured her damn heart out to the girl and had it shoved back into her face. She couldn’t believe that after all that they had shared and Britt pushing her to own up to her feelings that the blonde refused her. Her heart was breaking, and all she could do was sob out her agony after collapsing to the floor.

Rachel had not been spying, she just happened to be at her locker across the hall from Brittany when it happened. She heard what Santana had finally admitted to the girl and was happy for them. Then Brittany had surprisingly told her they couldn’t be together. Rachel’s heart broke for the devastated look on Santana’s face as she ran away from the situation.

Rachel followed just to make sure she was ok. She found her in a heap on the floor in the auditorium, dropped down beside her and took the distraught girl into her arms.

Santana looked up at her startled and then tried to pull away, but Rachel held firmly. “Stop Santana, I’m not going to talk. Just let it out.”

Santana looked into her eyes for a moment then completely broke, falling into her sobbing and holding on for dear life. Rachel just held on, rocking her softly letting her cry. Eventually Santana’s breath evened out. She had cried herself to sleep. Rachel carefully adjusted herself to lean against the wall and continued to hold the sleeping girl that had all but crawled into her lap seeking the comfort that was offered. Rachel held her for over an hour letting her sleep until the last bell woke her. 

Santana didn’t remove herself from Rachel’s arms right away; she just laid against her for a while longer. She eventually stood up and helped Rachel to her feet. “Thanks I guess, but if you tell anyo…”

Rachel held up a hand stopping her. “I know, you’ll end me. I’m not going to say anything Santana, but if you need anything just call me. I put my number in your phone while you were asleep.” With that she just gathered her backpack and walked out.

After watching her leave, Santana grabbed her own things and rushed out to the parking lot to her car and drove home.  
*End Flashback*

She wasn’t sure why Rachel had helped her that day or what she saw or heard, but she was extremely grateful to the tiny diva. Even if she would never admit it out loud, the least she could do was hear the girl’s lousy song. She packed up her portable mixer, a few accessories and headed out.

When she arrived at Rachel’s she was led into the dean. “Thank you for coming Santana.”

She just shrugged her shoulders and set her things down. “Whatever Tiny, just sing already so I can see if this is worth my time.” She could tell by her tear stained face and red eyes that she had been right about Rachel crying.

Rachel nodded and sat at the piano. “Would you mind turning the pages for me, I haven’t totally memorized it yet?”

Santana sat and looked over the song for a moment and then Rachel started playing. She listened as Rachel sang and poured everything she had into her song. The emotions that the song provoked, came off Rachel in waves and nearly broke Santana’s heart at how the song suited her as well, but she could tell that the girl next to her was just as broken as she herself was.

When the song ended Santana just sat back dazed, still looking at the music. “I have to admit it Rachel. This song is off the charts good.” She turned to look at her and saw Rachel with her head down her, shoulders shaking and she couldn’t take the total broken posture of the other girl. Turning in place, she gathered Rachel into her arm and held her while she cried, like Rachel had done for her.

A/N: Ok that’s the start. Please let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters. 

Santana had no idea how long she held the girl as she sobbed into her chest. Eventually Rachel sat up wiping her eyes. “Thank you Santana, I’m sorry for crying all over you and soaking your shirt.”

Santana just shrugged and gently asked. “Whatever. You want to tell me what that was about?” 

Rachel looked at her shocked. “You actually want to talk to me?”

Santana shrugged again. “Look, you were there for me last week and I know you know at least part of what that was about. I’m only trying to return the favor, but if you don’t want to…”

Rachel quickly grabbed her arm stopping her words. “No, that’s not it. I was just surprised you would want me to talk to you. I heard the whole conversation between you two just so you are aware of what I know. I trust that you know that I will not talk about it with anyone.”

“I know you won’t.”

Rachel smiled slightly. She was about to say more, when the doorbell rang. “That will be the pizza you requested.”

Santana nodded getting up. “I’ll get it.”

Rachel followed her to the foyer, before heading to the living room. “It’s already paid for, just bring it in here. I’m going to wash my face.”

When she returned to the living room, Santana was sitting back on the couch with a slice of pizza in one hand and a glass of mountain dew in the other, happily eating. “Food of the gods tiny. Come eat.”

Rachel sat and opened her own vegetarian pizza box taking out a slice. They sat in comfortable silence just eating for a while then Santana sat forward. “So, did you want to talk about it? Was all that in there about Gigantor?”

Rachel shook her head and looked away. “No, well, not completely.” Santana just sat quietly letting her collect her thoughts then Rachel turned back to her. “You are trusting me to not say anything about you and Britt so I am going to trust you with my biggest secret right now.”

Santana nodded. “I promise it stays between us Tiny.”

Rachel sighed. “It’s only a little bit about Finn. I found out today that he and Quinn are back together.”

Santana looked taken aback. “You’re shittin’ me right? Why the hell would she go back to him?”

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. “I think she’s settling to the fact that she doesn’t think she can do better or that it’s expected of her.”

Santana wasn’t sure about the extreme sadness that laced Rachel’s words. “And you’re upset that you aren’t with him instead?”

Rachel shook her head. “No, I don’t want Finn. I never really did. I just wanted him away from her. We had a fight today when we were supposed to be working on the song. She thought it was because I wanted him and I really don’t. She deserves so much better than him Santana. She just doesn’t see it. She could go so far in life if she would just believe in herself.”

Santana just stared at her for a moment in confusion then a small smile lifted her lips. “Ah, it’s not Finn you want, it’s Quinn. Your secret is the same as mine isn’t it?”

Rachel looked down nodding sadly. “Yes, I love her, but I know I’ll never have a chance with her. I mean look at me, she is way out of my league. I’m just a loud mouthed, big nosed diva and she’s so perfect. I just want so much better for her and he has never treated her right. She can do so much better than him. I know she’ll never be mine, I only want her to be happy and she won’t be if she settles for him and a life in this town.”

Santana took her hand. “Hey, don’t talk like that. You are a beautiful girl Tiny, she’d be lucky to have you. If you repeat that I will ends you, but honestly if you would just dress more currently, it would go a long way and people wouldn’t tease you as much.”

Rachel pushed a fresh tear away. “I don’t have a choice in how I dress. I used to dress normal but after the first two weeks of freshman year when I was slushied two to three times a day because I have two dads, my dad refused to buy me anything but clothes like this because they are cheaper and he gets them at goodwill. He said it was a waste of money.”

Santana felt like a she had been punched in the gut knowing she was one of the ones that had slushied her so many times as she was ordered to by the head Cheerio, Quinn’s sister Fran at the time. “I’m so sorry I was a part of that.”

Rachel shrugged. “I understood why. I heard Fran tell you and Quinn that if you both didn’t do it, you would be off the squad. Quinn’s dad would have been furious with her if she had been thrown off for defending a girls with gay dads. You were just protecting your friend. I never blamed you for that.”

A looked of shock came over her face. “How did you know that?”

Rachel just smiled sadly. “I was in a bathroom stall after the first attack when you and Quinn came in. She broke down crying because she hadn’t wanted to do it and felt bad. I heard you talking about it. That’s why I wouldn’t let my dads go up to the school and complain. I didn’t want you guys punished for trying to keep her safe. He was so angry with me for not standing up for myself that he went out and bought me clothes like these.”

Santana just sat there not sure what to say for a moment then looked down in shame. “I’m so sorry.”

Grabbing her hand Rachel. “Hey, look at me.” She waited until she had eye contact before continuing. “I forgave you a long time ago and neither of you have done it since last year. It’s ok Santana.”

Santana wanted to cry but held it in. She leaned over and hugged Rachel tightly then sat back. “So,” she said clearing her throat trying to reign in her emotions. “How long have you been gay for Fabray?”

She just shook her head in amusement at the deflection but let it slide. “Since freshman year orientation when we met. About an hour before the slushies were ordered. I looked at her and I saw… I don’t know how to explain it. I just knew that she was the key to so many things. She smiled shyly at me introducing herself and my world opened up. I have fallen more and more over the years. I know that sounds silly but…”

“No it doesn’t, I understand.” Santana cut her off.

Rachel studied her for a moment. “Can I ask you something?” Santana just nodded. “What happened last week? I know I heard the conversation but it really confused me. I mean, I was so happy for you when you told her what you did and opened up to her, but she just let you go. You don’t have to answer, I was just perplexed.”

Santana sighed. “I don’t know. She was all about how sex with feelings is better, pushing me to accept myself and tell the world about me. Then she shut me down for Stubbles McCripple pants. She only started seeing him because she was mad at me for not singing a duet with her and admitting my feelings. I just don’t know.” Tears were now pouring from her eyes and Rachel pulled her into a hug.

They stayed that way for a moment until Santana straightened and wiped at her eyes. “Ok, enough of this feelings crap. Let’s work on your song, if you can.”

Rachel nodded. “I can, that sounds good. I’d like to see if I can explain what it is I want so you might be able to work it out.” She looked at the clock and gasped. “Oh goodness, it’s after 8:00. What time do you need to be home?”

Santana shrugged. “Doesn’t matter tonight, my parents are at a doctors convention this week and won’t be back until Monday. They won’t know the difference.” She paused looking around as she gathered the pizza boxes. “Speaking of parental units, where are yours?”

Rachel just looked away and answered in a stoic tone. “Out of town on business as well.”

Hearing the tone in her voice Santana decided to drop it for now. They cleaned up their dinner mess and went upstairs to set up her equipment and worked for hours. They laughed, teased and worked seamlessly together. Santana had understood what she was after and was able to get a very good track that really suited the song. Rachel was overjoyed.

They started cleaning up all the papers and Santana’s equipment when Rachel looked at the clock for the first time since they came upstairs. “Oh god it’s after 11:30. Do you want to stay here tonight? I’d hate for you to drive home alone when it’s so late and you’re tired.”

Santana went to argue but yawned loudly then shook her head. “No, I’ll be ok.”

Rachel was not convinced. “Please Santana? I’ll be a nervous wreck and never forgive myself if something happened to you.”

Santana shook her head and yawned so big that it brought tears to her eyes, so she conceded. “Ok fine, but I need to set an early alarm so I can go home and change.”

Rachel nodded and headed to her drawers then handed San a pair of sweats and a tank top. “Here, is this ok to sleep in? The pants are long on me so they should fit and the t-shirt is baggie so it should be good as well.”

Santana took the clothes and nodded as she went to the bathroom to change. When she came back Rachel was changed for bed as well and sitting in her desk chair waiting for her. “Hey, where am I sleeping Hobbs?”

Rachel stood. “Well you can either sleep in here with me or I can put some sheets on the bed in the guest room for you. It’s up to you.”

Santana looked at the big bed for a moment then shrugged. “I’ll just sleep in here I guess.”

Rachel nodded and they turned off the lights and climbed in bed. Once they were settled Santana turned to look at her. “Tomorrow when I go home, I’ll hook up the system and print off the sheet music for each instrument, the vocals and make a CD of the track so you can sing it during glee.”

Rachel nodded through a yawn. “Sounds acceptable, thank you Santana.”

She just waved off the apology as she rolled back over. “No problem.”

They settled in and fell asleep quickly. The next morning they awoke early and Rachel quickly showered and dressed for the day. When she came downstairs, Santana had made some fruit smoothies and toast. They ate that and some fruit salad that was in the fridge.

As Santana went the leave, Rachel grabbed her things and walked her out. When she exited the house after locking the door, Santana turned to her. “You’re not heading to school this early are you?”

Rachel nodded. “Yes, my car is in the shop and I have to walk. If I don’t leave this early I’ll be late.”

Santana shook her head. “Come on, you can go with me. It’s still half dark out, it’s not safe. You can help get this stuff printed while I shower and change, and ride with me.”

Rachel just stood there stunned. “You don’t have to do that Santana. I’ve been walking for a week. I’ll be fine.”

Santana grabbed her hand and pulled her to the car. “Just get in.”

Rachel nodded, climbed in the car and they were off.

As she drove, Santana thought about all that had happened recently and last night especially. She had never talked to anyone about her feelings before. It was so easy to talk to Rachel and let down her walls. Rachel was in the same boat as she was and it was nice to have someone who understood her. Rachel really wasn’t that bad and she had never really disliked her at all. Once you got her away from the school she calmed down and was actually kind of cool to hang out with. She decided she wanted to keep her around and continue to hang out with her. It would be nice to have someone to talk to that really got her.

Rachel was still shocked that Santana was driving her to school. After they talked and broke down together last night she assumed that Santana would push her away and it would be back to their normal non-interactions at school outside of Glee once again. She really wanted to be friends with the other girl, she always had. It was nice to have someone to talk to. Once you got her out of the school setting she relaxed, dropped the ghetto bravado and could actually carry a very intelligent and stimulating conversation. Rachel was hopeful that maybe they could actually be friends but she would just have to wait and see.

A/N: Ok my lovely readers. This chapter was obviously all Rachel and Santana. I just wanted to lay the ground work for their friendship. The next chapter will have more Quinn and the rest of the club reacting to her song and their new friendship.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters. 

Once they made it to Santana’s house, the taller of the two led Rachel up to her room where she hooked the equipment back up where it belonged. Rachel looked around in awe. “This is a really wonderful set up Santana. No wonder you make such wonderful music.” She saw several instruments around that Santana played. Her guitars, her keyboard that put Rachel’s to shame, and her electronic drum set. Her mixing equipment was state of the art.

Santana looked around proudly. “Thanks, I gots it like that.” She set up the printer to print the music and turned back to Rachel. “Just click on each file here and it will print them. I’m going to get a shower. I’ll burn the CD when I get out.”

Rachel nodded and sat at the monitor while Santana went off to the closet to gather her clothes for the day. When she came back the music had finished printing and Rachel was playing the keyboard singing softly. Santana stood in the doorway listened for a moment not recognizing the song. “Another new song Tiny?” She pushed off the frame and walked over.

Rachel stopped playing and looked over. “Yes, just something I’ve been playing around with. Sorry I should have asked before I used your equipment.”

Santana waved her off as she sat at the monitor. “It’s not a problem Hobbs, I don’t mind.” She pulled up another program and started burning the CD.

Rachel watched with interest. “Is it possible to record one without the piano in it? It may be easier for me to get through it with something to keep me occupied. At least the first time I sing it for everyone.”

San nodded. “Sure. Do you want me to get up with you and sing the back-up parts? I’m sure we could get girl Chang to help too at lunch to run through them with us.”

Rachel smiled. “That would be nice, thank you.” Santana nodded and finished burning the CDs.  
   
After she put them in individual cased and labeled them she grabbed an empty folder and put the sheet music into it, then handed it all to Rachel. “There you go Tiny. One finished song for you to blow away today.”

Rachel beamed. “Thank you so much Santana. This is amazing, I couldn’t have done it without you.”

She just shrugged with a small smile. “No problem Hobbs. Now let’s head to school before we’re late and have to hear the importance of punctuality from Mr. Shue in homeroom. He who is perpetually late for everything.”

Rachel laughed and followed her out. They climbed in the car and headed off to school in comfortable silence. Rachel watched out the passenger window as Lima flew past, lost in her own thoughts. As they neared the school she turned back to Santana. “You can let me out up here if you want.”

Santana turned a confused glance her way. “Why would I drop you off a block before the school?”

Rachel shrugged and spoke softly looking back out the window. “I just didn’t think you would want people to see me getting out of your car.”

Santana sighed and pulled over to the side of the road and Rachel fought back the tears as she reached for the door handle, only to be stopped by the hand on her arm. “Rachel look at me.”

She turned and Santana could see the shine of unshed tears. “I don’t care if anyone sees us together. We’re friends right? I mean, if you want to be.”

Rachel searched her eyes and threw her arms around her when she saw nothing but sincerity. “Yes Santana, I want to be friends.” She sat back and smiled. “Does this mean I can talk to you in the halls and at lunch or just after school and at our homes?”

Santana smile putting the car in drive to finish the drive to school. “Yes Tiny, you can talk to me anytime you want. Just save the heavy shit for private. K?”

Rachel beamed, “Of course.”  
   
They got to school shortly after and met at the front of the car once they parked and got out. Talking about the Rachel’s song and the one the rest of the group wrote, they headed into the school not paying any attention to the shocked reactions around them from the other students. They stopped at Rachel’s locker first. Santana leaned against the lockers and listened to Rachel explain part of the chorus while exchanging books for her first few classes.

Rachel closed her locker and turned almost crashing into Finn. “Hey Rach, can we talk for a minute?”

She looked up at him. “Good morning Finn, I don’t really have time to converse with you at the moment. Santana and I are in the middle of a conversation.”

Finn looked at Santana confused. “Um… why? Is she bothering you Rach?”

Rachel shook her head and just stopped herself from smiling at the growl she heard behind her. “No she’s not. As I said I don’t have time to converse with you. We have to get to her locker before homeroom. Have a nice day.”

Finn grabbed her arm as she tried to pass. “Why are you even talking to her she’s a bitch Rachel? She’s just trying to prank you or something like that.” He tightened his hand around her arm not liking being dismissed so easily and she winced. 

Santana saw red and pushed herself between them detaching his grip on her. “Don’t you ever grab her like that again you overgrown toddler or I will ends you. She said she didn’t want to talk to you Finnept. Back off.” She turned to Rachel, who was rubbing her arm. “You ok Tiny?”

Rachel just nodded leaning into her. “Yes, thank you Santana.”

Finn stepped up to them again. “What the hell Rachel? She’s playing you!”

Rachel just sighed, grabbing Santana’s hand and pulling her away before she attacked the idiot. She released it when they rounded the corner. “Thank you for that. I hate it when he gets like that.”

Santana stopped walking and pulled Rachel to the side. “What do you mean? Has he done that crap before?”

Rachel turned to walk away. “It’s fine San, let’s just go to class.”

Santana moved in front of her. “The hell it is. Has he hurt you like that before?”

Rachel hung her head. “Once or twice but he always lets go when I tell him it hurts. I don’t think he knows his own strength sometimes. I just avoid being close to him if I can.”

Santana was seething. “I will kill him if he touches you again.”

Rachel grabbed her hand. “Please don’t make this bigger then what it is. I don’t want you to get in trouble or hurt.”

Santana shook her head. “Look Tiny, I won’t let you get hurt. You’re my friend and I take care of what is mine. He has no right to grab you whenever he wants and if he does is again I will go all Lima Heights on his creeper ass. You don’t deserve to be handled like that.”

Rachel fought back tears and squeezed her hand. “Ok Santana, thank you. Can we go now? Otherwise we’re not going to make it before the bell”

Santana took a deep breath to calm her. “Sure Tiny, let’s go.”

They continued talking about the new song Rachel was still working on. When they got to class Santana pulled Rachel with her to the back where she always sat with Quinn and Britt and pushed her into the chair beside hers continuing their conversation. Rachel usually sat close to the front and Finn always sat close to her. She didn’t want him near her friend and Rachel didn’t object to sitting with her.

Everyone else started entering the class and cast confused looks at the two of them. They were so engrossed in their conversation, they didn’t even notice. All of the Gleeks shared homeroom and were shocked and confused to see them together seemingly getting along.

Brittany and Quinn came in and shared a look before flanking them at taking their seats. Quinn next to Santana and Brittany beside Rachel. Brittany was happy to see Rachel and Santana getting along so she hugged her. “Hi Rachie!”

She took Rachel by surprise and when she squeezed around her upper arms Rachel hissed and recoiled in pain. Brittany instantly let go and Santana turned her around quickly pulling her cardigan off her shoulder to look at her arm. 

She saw the bruises already forming a defined hand print. She stood quickly scanning the room for him as he, Puck and Sam came through the door. She moved to rush to him but Rachel pulled her back whispering to her. “Calm down Santana it’s not that bad. I’m fine.”

Santana turned to her and whispered harshly back. “What the hell do you mean not that bad? You can see the outline of his damn fingers on your skin.” 

Rachel started shaking. “Please Santana. I don’t want to do this.” 

As tears fell from her eyes, Santana pulled her into a gentle hug. “Ok Tiny, I won’t but I swear to God if he comes near you again I will kill him.”

Rachel nodded her head into Santana’s neck. “Thank you.”

Everyone just stared at them. No one but Brittany had seen Rachel’s arm or heard what they said and they had no idea what was happening. Quinn stood and moved to them. “What’s going on?”

Rachel straightened and wiped her face. “Nothing Quinn, everything is fine.”

Santana scoffed and Quinn narrowed her eyes at her. “What is going on San?”

Santana pulled Rachel back to their seats. “You heard her, nothing.”

Quinn was about to ask again, but Mr. Shue came in and told them all to sit. She begrudgingly sat and decided she would find out later. Something wasn’t right here and since when were Santana and Rachel all touchy feely with each other.

The rest of class went by with the usually role call and announcements. Rachel sat leaning into Santana who just rubbed a soothing hand on her back as Brittany held her hand and rubbed her thumb over it. She saw the hand print and didn’t like seeing Rachel hurt or crying. It was like kicking a puppy. 

Quinn watched them all confused and concerned about what was going on. Rachel’s tears were very real as was the fear in her eyes. She wanted to know what was going on and vowed to find out before the end of the day.

The bell rang and all the students filed out of the room heading to class. Santana and Rachel were out the door quickly making their way to their first class that they shared and Quinn just watched them for a moment.

She turned and looked at Brittany who was still watching them walk away as well. “Britt, do you know what that was all about?”

Brittany shrugged. “I’m not sure. I hugged Rachie and it hurt her. San pulled her sweater back and there was bruises coming up on her arm like finger marks. San was going to do something, but Rachie stopped her and asked her not to and then started crying. San hugged her and said she wouldn’t do anything, but if he came near her again she would kill him.”

Quinn’s voice was pure rage. “Who Britt, who did it?”

Brittany wiped a tear that had fallen. “I don’t know, they didn’t say. I don’t like it Quinn it makes my stomach hurt. I don’t like to see her cry.”

Quinn hugged her. “I don’t either. Don’t worry we’ll keep an eye out and help if we can okay?” Brittany nodded and they headed off to class.

The rest of the day was uneventful. They shared most of their classes together as they were in all honors class. Quinn shared them all as well. The only one they didn’t was the class after lunch. Rachel had theory of dance, Quinn had art appreciation and Santana had musical concepts. Quinn watched all day as Rachel and Santana sat together in every class and walked to all the others glued together as well. She didn’t know what to make of it.

At lunch they asked Tina to help them with the song and went to the choir room to work on it. Tina loved the song and they had the backup vocals down before the end of lunch and were able to eat before their next classes. Santana saw Finn lurking in the hall after lunch and decided to walk Rachel to her dance class and was there at the door when it was over to walk to their next class together.

At the end of the day they went to each other’s lockers together and for the first time forever Rachel was not the first one to the choir room. Almost everyone was already there. When they walked into the room together laughing, the rest of the room fell silent.

Santana looked around at the silent room. “What?”

Kurt sat forward. “What’s going on with you two? Is this like the apocalypse or something?”

Santana shook her head. “Uh… no, we’re friends. What’s the big deal?”

Mercedes sat back smirking. “The big deal is you hate her, so why are you pretending to be her friend? What’s your angle Santana?”

Rachel put a calming hand on her back. “There is no angle Mercedes. Santana and I have come to an understanding and have decided to be friends. Nothing more.”

Mercedes scoffed. “You’re so naive Rachel. There is no way she would befriend you without ulterior motives. It just wouldn’t happen.”

A flash of hurt overtook her face for a moment as Rachel looked down that didn’t go unnoticed by any of them. Santana turned and pulled her face up to look at her. “Tiny that’s not true, you can’t believe them.”

Rachel smiled sadly. “I know Santana. It’s not…” She looked back at Mercedes and sighed.

Santana grabbed her hand and gently pulled her back out of the room. “Hey what’s wrong? Don’t believe her. I swear I’m not trying to do anything, but being your friend.”

Rachel rubbed her arm. “I know Santana, I never doubted you. It’s not that.”

She sighed in relief. “Then what is it?”

Rachel looked down. “It’s the fact that they think that no one would want to be my friend without having an agenda. Like I’m not worth being friends with.”

Santana gently pushed her head up buy her chin. “If they can’t see how awesome you are that’s their loss and my gain Tiny. I’m so sorry I ever treated you that way. You have shown time and again how much you care for everyone in that room and what a good friend you are. You’ve always believed in me and even after all that Finn crap and you told me I belonged on a pole you came to me later to apologize and told me I was worth so much more than that.”

Rachel took her hand. “You are Santana, I didn’t mean any of it. I was just upset.”

“I know, and I’m so happy to have you as my friend now. That day when you found me in the auditorium. I saw four other glee kids on my way here and not one of them came to check on me. Not one of them asked me later if I was ok. You did, even when I tried to push you away you were there for me. No one has ever done that for me before except Britt and even she’s not always there anymore.”

Squeezing her hand, wiping away the lone tear that Santana let fall and Rachel looked into her eyes. “I always will be San. You’re my friend and I take care of my own.” 

Santana smiled at the use of the same words she had said to Rachel earlier. “Thank you and I’ll be there for you from now on too. Don’t let them get you down, Tiny.”

Rachel nodded. “Ok, thank you Santana, for being my friend.”

Santana just shrugged. “I’d say it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

Rachel laughed. “They’d never believe me if I told them you can sound as verbose as I can.”

A look of mock horror came across her face. “They can never know. I have a rep to protect.”

Rachel laughed again. Before she could say more Mr. Shue came up to them. “Hey, let’s get in there. There’s lots of work to do before the competition this weekend.”

They nodded and followed him in. Rachel looked to where she normally sat to see Finn sitting next to her seat. On a huff she pulled Santana with her to two empty chairs two rows up and sat. Quinn noticed the look she gave Finn and figured she was trying to prove her point from yesterday.

Mr. Shue clapped his hands together and looked at them all. “Ok guys, you got the group number nailed down yesterday and the music for it is done as well.” He looked to Rachel and Quinn. “How is the solo coming?”

Quinn scoffed. “I didn’t get much done on it since she left me to do it alone yesterday.”

Rachel sat up straighter. “I’m sorry I left you, but you know why I did. I did go home and write a song that I think will be good for the solo.”

Mercedes scoffed. “Another one about your headbands?”

Santana stood and pulled Rachel to the front with her grabbing the folder. “No a really good one. I helped her with the background music for it last night. The song she wrote is awesome.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “Sure it is.”

Tina stood and walked to them. “It really is guys. Rachel asked me at lunch to help Santana with the backup vocals. It is an awesome song and they did great on the instrumental.”

Everyone just looked at them dumbfounded. Mr. Shue stepped over to the chairs and sat. “Ok girls, let’s see what you got.”

Rachel smiled and went to the piano while Santana set up the track. Santana looked back to the group. “For now, all but the piano is on this CD but we have sheet music for the band for the actual performance. Rachel is going to play the piano part today.”

She walked back over to Tina and Rachel and whispered to Tina. “Can you start the track on the second beat please? I’m going to sit with her and turn the music.

Tina just nodded and went to the player. She could tell that Rachel struggled to get the song out earlier today and Santana would put her hand on the tiny diva’s back when she seemed to be getting too emotional helping to ground her. The song was beautiful but it was obviously written from a place of pain.

Rachel sat at the piano with Santana to her right, mostly blocking her from the groups view. She didn’t really need the music pages turned for her. After playing it over and over last night and this afternoon she had it down. Santana knew this too, but also knew that she needed the support to get through the song especially with Quinn in the room. 

She took a deep breath and began playing. Once the music track started Tina walked over and stood behind her with a hand on her shoulder to show her support as well. She started singing never looking up from the keys. Santana kept one hand on her back and the other diligently turned the page in case she needed to look up and to help keep her own emotions in check.

Rachel never faltered. She sang her heart out, her passion and heartache came through with startling strength. Santana and Tina just smiled and backed her up when the time came. Rachel was in her own head as she sang pushing all of the emotions it evoked to the surface and it made it all the more beautiful.

When the song came to an end the rest of the group sat in stunned silence, never expecting the shear raw emotions pouring off of her in waves through the truly fantastic song. Mr. Shue was the first to recover and stood applauding breaking the rest out of their shocked haze, then they were all on their feet cheering madly for her.

Santana pulled her into a hug as Tina rubbed her back to calm her and bring her back to them. Santana spoke softly in her ear. “You did it Tiny and it was the best run through yet. You ok?”

Rachel nodded then stood with her as the group calmed down. Mr. Shue walked over and rubbed her shoulder. “That was amazing Rachel!” He looked to the group. “Ok gang, we have our solo!”

A/N: Next the group and Quinn’s reactions to the solo. Practice and prep for Regionals. More Santana and Rachel friendship with a dash of Brittany drama thrown in.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters. 

Mr. Shue walked over and rubbed her shoulder. “That was amazing Rachel.” He looked to the group. “Ok gang we have a solo.”

They all clapped and Santana moved forward. “It will be sang just like that, but with Rachel at a microphone and not the piano. We will also be bringing all the girls into it for the last chorus.”

Mercedes gave her a dirty look. “This is Rachel’s song. Why are you dictating to everyone how it’s going to go?”

Rachel sighed and pressed her face into Santana’s back still trying to regain her full composure. Santana shook her head. “We need to get this shit started and she needed a minute. Jeez get over it.”

Mercedes huffed, but said no more. Santana started handing out the music to the other girls while Rachel handed out sheets to the band. Kurt looked over Mercedes music then looked to Santana suddenly. “I get it, you’re only sucking up to Rachel so you can have a spotlight in this number. Well played Satan.”

Santana rolled her eyes trying to reign in her temper. “I don’t have a spotlight in this number. Brittany will be singing backup with Tina instead of me because we thought their voices would mesh better. Stop talking until you actually know what you’re talking about Liberace.”

Mr. Shue held up a hand. “Ok guys that’s enough. We have too much to do.”

They all dropped it and Santana went to her bag and pulled out another folder, handed a CD to Mr. Shue and started handing out music to the group.

Quinn sat quietly through all of it reading the lyrics on the sheet over and over, thinking about their fight yesterday. She couldn’t have been singing about me could she, she contemplated thinking about what she had said to Rachel about never getting it right. This was just too much. She had to have written this for Finn. She couldn’t afford to hope that is was for her. She couldn’t be with Rachel, it just wasn’t possible, it would never happen. 

But god did she want it to. She wanted the other girl with all her heart, but she could never take that chance. Even if Rachel felt the same. She would lose her home and her mother again. She couldn’t stand the thought of being so lost and desperate again. The first time almost destroyed her and she would never let it happen again. She had a plan, she would just stay with Finn and stick to the plan no matter how wonderful the song was, whether it was for her or not. She just couldn’t do it.

While Santana was busy handing out music Finn decided to speak to Rachel. He just knew that her song was for him. Walking up to her, he smile. “Hey Rach? I really liked your song.”

Rachel looked up startled. She hadn’t even thought of him approaching her while she was busy with the band. “Thank you Finn.”

She turned back to talk to Deryk again and Finn touched her arm causing her to finch and move away. He frowned slightly at her reaction. “I just wanted to know if we could talk after Glee.”

Rachel shook her head. “I really don’t have time Finn. I have plans tonight.” She lied hoping to get him to back off.

Finn’s frown grew. “What like a date or something?”

Rachel saw the anger grow in his eyes. “No, I just have plans. Besides, it shouldn’t matter to you what I do. You have a girlfriend and it’s not me.”

Finn took a step toward her. “Who told you I have a girlfriend? Why would you think that?”

Rachel looked at him incredulously taking a step back. “I overheard you and Quinn talking about it. It’s none of my business what you do. I was just making a comment as to how my plans shouldn’t concern you. Now, I really need to finish my talk with the band about my song. I have no need to have a talk with you outside of Glee related topics.”

His anger grew and he stepped forward again, but Rachel was pulled away from him before he could get too close. “Excuse me.” Santana threw over her shoulder then looked back to Rachel. “Hey Tiny, when we get to my crib after practice are we ordering pizza again or Chinese? I can’t decide what I want to eat.”

Rachel spared a glance over Santana’s shoulder then looked at her with a relieved smile. “Um, Chinese is most agreeable. We had pizza last night.”

Santana shrugged her shoulders. “Good, that settles that then. Now finish up with Ryk, Mr. Shue wants us to move to the auditorium and start on our choreography for the group number. Britt and Mike finished it and are ready to teach us.”

Rachel smile. “Ok, it shouldn’t be but a few minutes more. Can you help me explain this drum part better?”

Santana took the paper from her hands looking it over. “Sure.” They moved back over to the band and started talking to Ryk again.

Finn had watched the exchange like a tennis match and threw his hands up in frustration when they walked away without even acknowledging him. 

Quinn watched the exchange with curious eyes. She couldn’t hear what was said, but Rachel’s discomfort was obvious. She really didn’t want to talk to him and Quinn really didn’t want to examine why that made her feel the way it did. After he stormed off she turned her head back to the music in her hand.

Rachel watched him storm away out of the corner of her eye and visibly relaxed. “Thank you Santana.”

Santana just bumped her shoulder. “De nada.”

They finished talking to the band and then the group moved on to the auditorium. After an hour and a half of practicing the choreography, Mr. Shue called it a night and sent them home. He told them to all meet back here during free period to practice some more tomorrow. They only had three more days to practice for Regionals on Saturday so they all readily agreed.

While they were getting things packed up to leave Brittany came up to them and looked at Santana hesitantly. “Can we talk San?”

Santana took a ragged breath. “I don’t really think…”

Rachel touched her shoulder lightly cutting her off then leaned in and whispered in her ear. “At least see what she has to say. I’ll wait right here for you.”

Santana nodded and sighed looking back to Britt. “Sure Britt, but I don’t want to leave the auditorium. We can talk in the back so no one will hear us.”

Rachel moved over to talk to Tina and they moved to the back of the auditorium. When they came to a stop Santana turned to her. “What do you want?”

Brittany sighed. “I miss talking to you San.”

Santana scoffed. “That’s not my fault. You’re the one who turned me away Britt.”

Brittany looked down sad. “I know.” She paused then looked back up. “Are you with Rachie now?”

Santana sighed, looking back up to the stage where Rachel was now playing the piano waiting for her. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no. We’re just friends. She’s kind of cool to hang out with.”

“Do you think we’ll be friends that hang out again San?” She was fighting tears and it killed Santana.

“I don’t know B. Maybe, but not right now. I just can’t, I’m sorry.”

Britt nodded sadly and kissed her cheek. “Ok San,” and she walked out the doors behind them.

Santana watched her go, tears finally falling down her face. She just stood there looking at the door for a long time until she felt the arms circle her waist from behind. 

Rachel squeezed slightly. “Not good?”

Santana sighed and leaned into her warmth. “Not really. She wanted to know if you and I were together. Told me she missed me and wanted know if we could be friends that hang out again. I told her you and I were just friends and I couldn’t be friends and hang out with her right now. Maybe I should, I don’t know.”

Rachel rubbed soothing circles on her arms. “Maybe you need to let her miss you for a while. Let her figure out exactly what she wants from you.”

Santana thought about it for a moment. “Yea, you might be right. Thanks Tiny.” 

Rachel knew she was thanking her for more than what she had just advised and squeezed her tightly. “Anytime Santana.”

They stayed in the embrace for a little longer then Rachel squeezed her one more time backing up knowing they needed to go. “Can you give me a ride home? We finished late and it’ll be dark before I can make it home.”

Santana turned to her. “I thought we were having Chinese at mine?”

“I thought you just said that to get Finn to leave me alone.”

Santana shrugged. “Well yea, but I still want to take you to my house and have Chinese food. We can eat, watch TV and just chill.”

Rachel smiled. “Sounds good to me, let’s go.”

They grabbed their things and head to the car. When they got to Santana’s they ordered their food and worked on homework until it came. They ate, finished their work then settle on the couch with a movie. Santana laid her head in Rachel’s lap needing the contact after talking to Brittany.

Rachel ran her fingers through the other girl’s hair absentmindedly while engrossed in the movie. Santana had been clingy since she spoke with Britt and Rachel didn’t mind. She would be here for her friend. She was enjoying getting to know her better and really didn’t like seeing her upset. Watching her cry and stare at that door earlier broke her heart and she wanted nothing more than to hold her friend until she didn’t hurt anymore.

Santana lay looking at the TV not seeing what was on the screen. She was thankful that Rachel didn’t talk and was just there. The fingers in her hair soothed her and she was glad that she had let the other girl in and wasn’t alone. They had been real friends for less than two days but she felt like they always had been. She sighed, content to just be with her new friend.

Rachel looked down as the credits rolled to find Santana fast asleep. She hated to wake her but knew she had to. She ran her hand through Santana’s hair with a little more pressure and scratched lightly. “Santana. Santana, I need you to get up.”

Groaning, she turned over and buried her face in Rachel’s side. “No, sleeping.” Came the muffled reply.

Rachel chuckled, scratching her scalp lightly again. “Come on Santana. I need to get home, it’s late.”

She huffed and rolled to her back. “You can stay here tonight if you want. We can run to your house in the morning to get ready like I did today.”

Rachel thought for a moment and smiled. “Ok, I’d like that. I’ve never slept over at someone else’s house before.”

Santana sat up and looked shocked. “Are you serious?”

Looking down sadly she sighed. “Yes. I’ve never been to a sleepover and you’re the first person that’s ever slept over at my house.”

Santana still stares shocked for a moment thinking about this. As she thinks she is upset for her friend that they all treated her so awful. “You know what. We should get all the glee girls and have a sleep over this weekend after Regionals. What do you think?”

Rachel thinks for a moment. “If we have it here, they should all come. I’d offer to have it at my house, but they probably wouldn’t show up.”

Santana frowned for a moment. “I really think they would still come but I have no problem with having it here. I’ll text my mami and make sure it’s ok. I’m allowed to have one or two people over without asking but I need to ask about having six. It’s not going to be an issue she should say yes.”

Rachel smiled brightly. “That sounds good. What will we do?”

Santana shrugged. “Whatever you want. We can play games or we have karaoke in the basement TV room, or whatever. When Quinn and Britt stay over we just watch TV, paint our nails and bitch about life.”

Rachel chuckled. “I’m ok with whatever everyone else wants to do. Oh can we play karaoke challenge?”

“What’s that?”

“I used to play it with my dads. You take a bunch of off the wall songs and put them in a hat then someone draws a song and the singer has to sing it.” She claps and bounces in place.

Santana chuckles at her excitement. “That actually sounds like fun. We can do that.”

Santana stands and pulls her upstairs still talking about different things they could do. Once in the room, Santana hands her some sweats and a tank top to sleep in and a new toothbrush telling her to just leave it in the bathroom in the holder for when she’s over. Rachel smiles and heads off to change.

Once she changes, she brushes her teeth and sees three other toothbrushes in the holder all different colors than hers. As she puts her brush in the holder tears come to her eyes seeing it with the others. Just that small bit of inclusion meant more to her then she knew how to express as her tears fall. Lost in her head she didn’t hear the knock on the door

When Santana had knocked, she got concerned when there was no answer so she stuck her head in. “Hey, you ok Tiny?”

Rachel had her back to her and just nodded. Santana looked into the mirror and saw her tears and rushed to her pulling her into her arms. “What’s wrong Estrella? What happened?”

Rachel just shook her head trying to calm. “I… and you…” She was pointing towards the sink, but couldn’t get any more out and just buried her head in Santana’s chest.

Santana held her tightly letting her calm, confused as to what caused this. After a few minutes she calmed and stepped out of her arms wiping her face a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I’m ok.”

Santana wiped a tear away. “Want to tell me what that was about?”

Rachel shook her head. “No, it’s silly. I’m sorry I did that.”

Cupping her chin Santana looked into her eyes. “It’s not silly if it makes you cry Tiny. Tell me.”

Rachel sighed. “It was the toothbrush.”

Confused she pushed for more. “What was the toothbrush?”

“I just never had a friend like you before that would include me in anything. You thought enough of me to have a toothbrush for me at your house. I saw it sitting there with what I assume is yours, Brittany’s and Quinn’s and it just hit me that I was included in your circle and I’ve never had that before. All of the friends I have ever had barely tolerate me and we only converse at school or my classes.”

She takes a breath and shakes her head. “I know it’s silly, but it made me feel wanted.” She finished quietly.

Santana pulls her back into her arms. “You are wanted and always will be with me Tiny.”

Rachel sighs into the embrace and just holds on. “Thank you Santana.”

Pulling back, she looks into Rachel’s eyes. “Just so you know, you make me feel that way too. Since we started sophomore year I have felt that my friends love for me was conditional and sporadic at best. With you, I feel like I can just be me and you’ll still be here.”

Rachel grabbed her hand and gently squeezed it. “I will be.”

Santana smiled and hugged her again quickly then pulled back. “Ok, enough mushy garbage. Let’s get some sleep Tiny.”

Rachel chuckled and nodded and they headed off to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters. 

Rachel woke the next morning with Santana curled up in a ball, snuggled into her back. She turned over and smile at how cute her friend looked. She spared a glance at the clock and gasped, jumping up and running towards the bathroom. “Santana wake up, we’re late.”

Santana groans and stretches. “What are you yelling about Hobbs?”

Rachel rushes back out of the bathroom. “Its 6:30 Santana, we have to leave for school in 30 minutes and I have no clothes here and no time to go home.”

Santana gets up and grabs her hands. “Ok calm down. I’ll just get you something of mine and it will be fine. Breathe Tiny.”

Rachel looks toward her closet. “Your stuff will be too big and I don’t want to risk ruining something of yours if I get slushied.”

Santana shakes her head. “I have some jeans that should fit you fine and some older shirts that are smaller as well. I don’t care about the slushies. Besides, I’m not letting you get slushied anymore so don’t worry about it. We don’t have time.”

She drops Rachel’s hands and rushes into the closet and comes back out with an outfit for both of them. “Here, these should fit fine. Your shoes won’t work with this so here’s some chucks that are too small for me that I never took back.”

Rachel takes the clothes and kisses her cheek quickly as she shoots into the bathroom. Santana just shakes her head amusedly and changes for the day.

Rachel comes back out wearing black jeans, red chucks, white tank and open red button down. Santana’s jaw hits the floor. “Damn Tiny you look hot in that. You’re going to set tongues wagging today.”

Rachel looks down at herself shyly. “It’s not that good Santana. I actually used to have an outfit almost just like this. I just need to brush my hair out again and put it up then I will be ready.” She grabs her hair tie off the nightstand as she talks and turns back to the bathroom

Santana grabs the brush from her. “Oh no, leave it just like that.” She pushes Rachel back into the bathroom and sprays hair spray in her hair scrunching it in her hand. “There, you look perfect just like that.”

Rachel looks at herself in the mirror while Santana quickly brushes her teeth. It does look good she thinks as Santana throws on some light make up then pulls her out of the room. They grab their things and rush out to the car. They reach the school in record time and breathe out a sigh of relief that they are right on time. Getting out, they meet at the front of the car and make their way into the school talking just like the day before.

They make it to Rachel’s locker with no problem and continue talking while she gets her things for the start of her day. As she closes her locker and they turn around they are startled by Kurt and Mercedes who are right behind them. “Oh my god Rachel you look amazing.” Kurt gushes excitedly.

Mercedes smirks. “Damn girl, who knew you had all that under your jumpers. What made you want to flaunt all of that today?”

Rachel looks down uncomfortable with their scrutiny. Santana steps in front of her. “Hey back of wheezy, she looks awesome and you need to step.”

Kurt looks back at Rachel. “What brought on the makeover Rach?”

Rachel sighs and answers quietly. “I slept over at Santana’s last night and we woke up late so I borrowed some clothes. Don’t get used to it, I can’t afford to buy clothes like this on a normal basis.”

Kurt looks surprised at the admission, but says nothing. Santana puts a hand on Rachel’s back and gently pushes her away from the two school gossip divas. “I trust that I will not hear that spread all over this godforsaken school. She doesn’t need any more shit.” 

Kurt holds up his hands. “They won’t hear anything from me.”

Santana levels a glare on Mercedes and she relents. “I won’t say anything either.”

Santana nods. “Good because I would hate to see slushy in that weave or on that jacket Kurt.” 

Mercedes and Kurt gasp at the threat while she leads Rachel away. They stop at Santana’s locker and she changes out her books then they move on to homeroom. When they enter the room, Kurt and Mercedes are already there along with the rest of the Gleeks and jaws drop when they see Rachel. 

Tina rushes over and hugs her. “My god Rach you look amazing today. I love your hair like that.”

Rachel blushes at the compliment. “Thank you Tina. You look beautiful as always.”

They take their seats in the back and Brittany bounces in her seat. “Rachie, you look hot.”

Turning redder she nods. “Thank you Brittany.”

As everyone resumes their murmured conversations looking at her occasionally, Santana leans in and whispers into her ear. “I told you Tiny, tongues are wagging.”

Rachel giggles and slaps her arm playfully. “Stop it Santana.”

Santana just laughs and sits back waiting for Mr. Shue.

Quinn sits silent. From the time Rachel walked in the room until now, she hasn’t moved an inch. All she can think is DAMN how am I going to ignore her all day looking like THAT.

Finn is murmuring mailman and Puck smirks watching her.

Rachel was never so happy to have Mr. Shue finish role and the bell to ring. Santana follows her quickly out of the room. “Hey slow down Hobbs. Where’s the fire?”

Rachel slows and sighs. “That was embarrassing.”

Santana looks confused. “Um…why? You look great Tiny.”

Rachel shrugs. “I don’t know. They’re all going to expect this kind of outfit all the time now and I can’t. I’m just not looking forward to the inquisition and rude comments tomorrow.” 

Santana smiles. “About that, do you have a clothing allowance?”

Rachel nods. “Yes, dad gives me $50 dollars a month at the goodwill, I haven’t shopped this month yet because the slushies have been pretty tame lately.”

“Can you use it at any of the goodwill stores?”

Rachel looks up sharply. “There’s more than one? I have a card to pay with.”

“Yes and I know which one has the good clothes. Britt has to shop there too because she has three other siblings and her parents don’t make a lot of money. I help her find the good stuff. Maybe we can go after school on Friday and see what we can find.” She offers hoping not to offend her.

Rachel smiles brightly. “That would be wonderful Santana. Thank you. I only knew of the one downtown that dad took me to.”

Santana wrinkles her nose. “That place is the worst. No worries hobby, auntie Snix gots this.” Rachel laughs and they go to class. 

They day is fairly uneventful save for the looks that they continue to get all day. Free period is right before lunch and they have a really good practice. The number is coming along nicely and they are going to work more on it during afternoon rehearsal and work on the solo as well.

They make their way to lunch and are stopped outside the lunchroom doors by Finn. “Hey Rach. You look really nice today. Can we go talk?”

Rachel takes a step back. “We are on our way in to eat Finn and were in the middle of a conversation. I don’t have time to talk to you right now.”

Finn steps forward. “This is bullshit Rachel. I’ve been trying to talk to you for days and you’re always with HER and won’t talk to me.”

Rachel stands a little straighter. “I like being with her and I have nothing to say to you. What is ‘bullshit’ as you say, is that you won’t stop trying. You have a girlfriend and I don’t want to talk to you about anything non Glee related. If you want to discuss Glee you are free to sit with us at lunch and do so. Otherwise we have nothing to say to each other.”

Finn moves to grab her arm, but Santana pulls her back. “Think twice ass hat. Touch her and you die.”

He rounds on her. “Stay out of this SATAN! It’s none of your business.”

Santana gets up in his personal space. “It is my business when you try and bully my Hobbit into talking to your creeper ass and won’t take no for an answer. BACK THE FUCK OFF.”

He pushes her back and Rachel barely catches her before she hits the ground. Before Santana can recover and jump on him, Sam shows up out of nowhere and shoves him back. “What the hell Finn, you don’t push girls.”

Finn is seething. “What do you care? She’s not your girlfriend anymore and someone needs to put her in her place. I just want to talk to Rachel.”

Rachel holds Santana back. “I don’t want to talk to you Finn. I already told you that, so just leave me alone.”

Sam turns back to Finn. “You heard her. Back off dude and it doesn’t matter whether San is my girlfriend or not. I will not let you treat any girl like that.” He steps back and guides the girls around him blocking them with his body. 

Once they are out of ear shot Rachel hugs him and kisses him on the cheek. “Thank you Samuel.”

Santana rubbed his arm. “I could have handled him, but thanks Sam.”

He blushes and looks down. “You’re welcome. He had no right.”

They all got in line, got their food and sat down resuming their talk about the competition. The rest of the Gleeks eventually file in and sit with them. All but Finn, Quinn and Brittany. Finn stormed off after Sam helped the girls and Quinn sat with Brittany across the lunchroom.

As Quinn sat, she looked at Brittany’s heartbroken face. “Hey B, what you doing sittin here all alone?”

Brittany smiled sadly looking over at Santana. “I didn’t want to upset San anymore. She said we couldn’t be friends that hang out right now so I’m staying away.”

Quinn was shocked. “Why B? Why would she say that? You’re her best friend.”

Brittany looked down in shame. “I hurt her and made her cry Q. She hates me now.”

Rubbing her back, she pulls her into a hug. “She doesn’t hate you B. Just give her time.”

Brittany pulls back and shakes her head, tears streaming down her face. “No you don’t understand how much I hurt her. She finally admitted that she loves me and I told her I was staying with Artie.”

“Why did you do that Britt? I know you love her too, you told me all you wanted was to be with only her.” Quinn was really confused now.

Britt looks down again. “I didn’t want to hurt Artie any more. I took his V Card ‘cause I’m stupid and I hurt him so I stayed with him. I care about him and didn’t want to make it worse but now I hurt my San. I’m just so stupid.”

Quinn pats her back and wipes her face as she stood up. “You are not stupid B, you just care for everyone so much and you want to make everyone happy. It just doesn’t always work out. Come on B. Let’s go talk somewhere else. You don’t want all these idiots seeing you cry.”

They made their way to the auditorium and Quinn sat pulling her down in her lap letting her cry. “Listen B, I know you don’t want to hurt Artie, but it will hurt him more if you just stay with him because you feel bad. You need to figure out what you want more. To spare Artie’s feelings or be with who you love and not hurt San anymore. You know how hard that was for her to tell you she wanted to be with just you. Think about it honey.”

“It’s too late Q. I ruined it.” Brittany cries and bures her face in Quinn’s neck.

Quinn rubs her back soothingly. “It’s only too late if you let it be. If you explain it to San and tell her you want her too she will understand.”

Brittany sat up and looked off into space. “I don’t know.”

Quinn sighed still running her hand up and down her friend’s back. “Just think about it Britt.”

Brittany nodded and kept looking away. After a moment she turned back. “What about you Quinn?”

Quinn looked up confused. “What do you mean Britt?”

“I mean you only stay with Finn cause you think you should. Why don’t you break up with him to be with who you want?”

Quinn sighs. “I can’t be with who I want B, ever. I can’t and I don’t want to be alone either.”

Brittany lays her head on her shoulder. “But you can be with her. She wants you too Q.”

She looks down stunned. “Who are you talking about?”

Brittany smiles slightly. “Rachie, she likes you too Q. She wrote that song for you.”

Quinn shakes her head. “Why would you think that B?”

Sitting up, she kisses Quinn’s cheek. “I’ve known for a long time you liked each other, but I heard San and Rachie talking about the song and how hard it was for her to sing it in front of you.”

Quinn just shakes her head again. “No, I think it’s because she wrote it for Finn and felt bad because she knows were dating.”

Brittany huffs. “It is not Quinn. She loves you, I know she does.”

“It doesn’t matter Britt. My family will never accept that and I don’t have anywhere else to live if my mom kicks me out. Maybe after college I can be who I am but it will never work now.” She looks down and wipes a tear from her eye.

Brittany lays into her again hugging her tightly. “This just sucks for us huh?”

Quinn kisses her head. “Yes it does B. Yes it does.”

They stay there quietly together soaking up each other’s comfort and head off to class when the bell rings.

At the end of the day they all meet back up in the choir room to wait for Mr. Shue. When Rachel and Santana enter, Sam motions them over to sit in the seats between him and Mike. Smiling they sit and talk with Tina about the solo. Finn comes in last and sends a dirty look to Santana, before sitting next to Quinn and Brittany.

Quinn noticed the look but wasn’t sure what it was about. “Why are you mad at Santana?” She whispers to him.

He shrugs and sends another look her way. “She doesn’t know how to stay out of other people’s business.”

Quinn and Brittany share a confused look but shrug it off as Mr. Shue comes in. “Ok guys, today we made a lot of progress but we still have a lot to cover. I want to take the first hour to go over the group number than move on to the solo. The boys will sit and watch. There’s no real choreography for that song so once we have the vocals down we can move on and maybe get a few more runs of the group number in before the end of the second hour. So let’s head to the auditorium and get started.”

They all file out and Santana notices that Sam and Mike have flanked them as they walk. She smiles and bumps shoulders with Rachel whispering into her ear. “It’s like we have our own secret service.”

Rachel chuckles. “Yes I noticed. I’m ok with it for the moment simply because I am just tired of dealing with him.” They look ahead of them at Finn and Quinn walking hand in hand and Rachel looks down. “I hate it. It scares me San.”

“What does Tiny?”

Rachel sighs. “The thought of him hurting her. She’d never listen to me if I told her how he is. I just hope that she doesn’t let him do that to her.”

Santana watches them for a moment. “I hope so too. We may have our problems but I love Q and it would kill me to see her hurt.”

Rachel nods as they file on to the stage and get set for the number.

Practice goes well and the number is really getting better. They should have it down by the end of free period tomorrow and be tightening it up for the next three rehearsals after. The solo is perfect within thirty minutes of running through it with the girls and they spend the remaining time on the group number. 

Practice comes to an end and Santana calls all the girls to hang back for a moment. “Hey guys, I’m having a sleep over at mine Saturday night for just the glee girls if you all want to come. No alcohol, my mami would kill me. Just food, games, movies and whatever.”

Quinn looks to Brittany. “Is this for all the girls San?”

Santana looks at her confused. “Um, yea. I just said that.”

Quinn looks at Britt then back to San. Santana understands the question now. “It’s for all the girl. It should be fun.”

Quinn nods and the others all seem excited. Rachel is getting really excited. “Santana told me we all need to bring sleeping bags, blankets and pillows. We’ll be staying in the basement TV room all together.”

Santana nods and they all talk about what food they want and what games they want to play. After a few minutes they all headed to the parking lot and Rachel and Santana were   
off. 

Driving down Rachel’s street, Santana looked over to her for a second. “I need to run some errands, but is it ok if I come back later and stay the night? I hate staying alone.”

Rachel smiles. “Of course Santana. Anytime you want.”

Santana returned the smile. “When do your dads get back from their business trip?”

Rachel’s smile fell and she turned to look out the window. “I’m not sure.”

Frowning, Santana pulled into Rachel’s drive. “When will you get your car back?”

Rachel shrugged. “When my dads send the money to Burt for fixing it. I’m not sure how long that will take.” She exited the car grabbing her bag. “What would you like for dinner?”

Santana thought for a moment. “I can stop at Breadsticks and get you some veggie lasagna. I feel like spaghetti tonight.”

Rachel smiled. “That sounds good.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a key. “Here, this is my spare. Just come in when you get here. I’m going to take a shower and will be in my room. Just come up or text me when you get here.”

Santana nodded and pulled out after Rachel made it into the house. Heading home she made a mental list of things she had to do before heading back. She just needed to be as quick as possible.

A/N: That’s all folks. Next chapter we get closer to Regionals and Rachel and Santana shop for clothes.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters. 

Santana rushed home and went through her closet as quickly as she could. Her parents spoiled her with clothes and things because they worked so much. She always had an overabundance and had a bad habit of never throwing any of her old clothes away after growing out of them and barely wearing them. She even had some old stuff that still had tags on them and no longer fit her, so she had tons of them in Rachel’s size. She knew Rachel was much too prideful to accept her just giving them to her so she had other plans. Once she put them all in a bag she quickly packed an overnight bag. 

She loaded everything up and headed to the Goodwill. After she parked she grabbed the bag and headed in. She stepped up to the counter and waved at the older lady behind it. “Hey Mrs. Harmon. How are you today?”

The lady stepped over to her. “Well hello Santana, are you dropping more clothes off for Brittany? You guys were just in here a couple of weeks ago.” Santana used part of her clothing allowance and bought clothes for Brittany every six months or so, bringing them in and having Mrs. Harmon price them at a price Britt’s family could afford.

Santana shook her head. “No ma’am. These are for a different friend. I’m bringing her back on Friday so if you could just price them and hold them just like we do for Britt that would be awesome. Just keep it around $40 for all of it.”

Mrs. Harmon smiled and pat Santana’s hand lovingly. “You are such a sweetheart to your friends honey and we always appreciate the extra money that you bring us.”

Santana mock gasped. “Mrs. H, you can’t say things like that. I have a rep to protect.”

The older woman laughed heartily. “Oh Santana, if you ever just let that heart out, no one would care that you’re not really a badass.”

Santana smiled. “But I am a badass Mrs. H. I only have a heart with a select few.”

“Well, I’d say those who are privileged enough to see the real you are extremely lucky.”

Santana blushed. “Thank you but enough of the mushy stuff. I gotta get going. See you Friday Mrs. H.”

Santana waved as she exited the store. Mrs. Harmon just wave back and smiled after her. She went straight to Bread Sticks and picked up the order she called in and headed to Rachel’s. They had a nice dinner just talking then settled in Rachel’s room watching movies until they fell asleep.

The next morning Santana handed Rachel a small bag of clothes with two outfits in it. “Here Tiny. This should get you through until we can get to the store on Friday.”

Rachel took the clothing out of the bag and looked back over to Santana. “I really appreciate you loaning me your clothes, but I really don’t want to risk getting them ruined. I haven’t been slushied all week and it will happen before the end of the day Friday.”

Santana shook her head. “I will never wear these clothes again, they don’t fit anymore. You may as well wear them or they’ll just end up in the trash. Just put on the yellow top and blue jeans Hobbs.”

Rachel sighed. “Ok, but I must insist on paying you for them.”

Santana sighed knowing this would be her reaction. That was why she dropped the clothes off at the Goodwill earlier. “No. I won’t let you pay me for something I would have just thrown away anyway. Come on Tiny just take the damn clothes. It really want you to have them.”

Rachel hesitated for a moment then nodded and headed to the bathroom to change. When she came out she was wearing a yellow off the shoulders shirt that hugged every curve perfectly and a pair of light blue jeans that looked like they were made just for her.

Santana handed her a pair of yellow flats she found in the closet and whistled. “Woo Tiny you look better than yesterday and I’m glad you wore you hair that way again. Looks good on you. Now, let’s bounce we gots ta get ta school.”

Rachel threw the shoes on and they were out the door. 

They got to school with some extra time to spare, so they were just hanging by Santana’s locker talking when Brittany ran by sobbing and they spotted Artie wheeling behind her calling after her. Santana turned to go after her, but stopped herself and turned back around.

Rachel grabbed her arm. “Santana, regardless of anything else she is your best friend and you love her. Go check on her and see what happened. You are going to go crazy worrying about her until you make sure she’s ok.”

Santana hesitated for half a second then sprinted after her. Rachel rounded on Artie stopping him forcefully as he moved to pass by her. “What did you say to her? How dare you make Brittany cry?!”

Archie was panting from trying to keep up. “I was an idiot. She was going on and on about how Santana was her friend, that Santana loved her and she had to make something up to her. I asked her how she could be so stupid. She hasn’t even talk to her in weeks. Santana only loves Santana. Then she ran off.”

Rachel was seething. “I swear to you Artie, I don’t believe in violence but if you weren’t in that chair I would punch you right now! How could you say that to her!”

Quinn moved in beside the yelling diva. “Hey calm down. What’s going on?”

Rachel turned toward her with her arms crossed. “I will not calm down. This imbecile called Brittany stupid and made her cry. Told her Santana doesn’t love anyone but herself.”

If looks could kill Artie was sure the look Quinn just turned his way would have left him a blazing carcass on the spot. “If you know what’s good for you, you will wheel your ass far away from us this instant and never speak to Britt again unless she speaks to you first. You better damn well hope you have a slushy kit because when it gets around that you called her stupid, you are TOAST. What’s the number one rule asshole? NO ONE hurts Brittany. No one makes Brittany cry and gets away with it.”

Artie backed up then whipped his chair around making his way quickly down the hall. Quinn and Rachel were still shaking in rage when Quinn grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hall. “Let’s go check on B and San.” Rachel didn’t reply, just followed wanting to get to Brittany and Santana quickly.

Santana followed Brittany into the bathroom and ordered everyone in there out. Brittany sat on the bench with her face in her hands rocking back and forth. Once everyone was gone and the door closed, Santana sat next to her and pulled her into her arms. “What happened Britt Britt?”

Brittany pulled away. “I don’t deserve for you to hug me. I’m a stupid horrible person.”

Santana pulled her back in. “You are not stupid or horrible.”

Brittany cried into her chest. “Yes I am. I hurt you when all I wanted to do was give you sweet lady kisses.”

Santana looked at her startled. “Then why didn’t you B? Why did you choose him?”

“I thought that I needed to stay with him after I took his V-card and made him sad. I didn’t mean to hurt him and I was trying to make it right, but I hurt you and that’s so much worse.”

Santana rubbed her back. “Awe B, why didn’t you tell me that? We could have talked about it.”

Britt sat up and looked into her eyes. “I felt bad for what I did and didn’t want you to think bad of me. I was mad at you and was going to sing a duet with him because you didn’t want too. I just mess everything up. Then he called me stupid and I just ran away because he’s right.”

Santana saw red but kept her voice gentle. “You. Are. Not. Stupid. Do you hear me? I don’t think badly of you. He is stupid for talking to you like that. You are the sweetest and smartest person I know and I’m sorry for not singing with you.”

Shaking her head she fell back into her. “No, I’m stupid. I ruined us.”

Santana lifted her face to look in her eyes. “Do you love me? Are you in love with me?”

“Yes I love you so much San. I never loved anyone like I love you.”

“Do you want to be with me now and only me, me only with you?”

Brittany nodded vigorously. “That’s all I ever wanted.”

Santana leaned in and took her lips in a soft loving kiss. “Then you didn’t ruin anything baby. Will you be my girlfriend Brittany?”

Brittany sobbed again nodding. “Yes. I’m so sorry San. I love you sooo much.”

“It’s ok Britt, I understand now. I love you and I’m sorry too.” Santana pulled her in for another kiss. It was gentle, sweet and she pushed all the love she felt for the blonde into that kiss. Brittany returned it wholeheartedly.

In the doorway Quinn and Rachel backed back out of the bathroom and leaned against the wall by the door. Rachel wiped a tear from her eye. “Thank god. Santana was miserable without her.”

Quinn nodded. “B was too. I’m glad they figured it out. Maybe I’ll only torture the wheeled freak for a couple of days instead of a month like I planned.”

Rachel laughed. “I don’t think Brittany will let you torture him that long, even if I think he deserves it.”

Quinn chuckled. “Probably not. He’s already gotten his first of the day by now. Puck just text and he was furious. He’ll be lucky to get to any of his classes today.”

Rachel just shook her head with a grin and they stood together as the homeroom bell rang, silently waiting for their friends. A few minutes later Santana and Brittany came out of the bathroom all smiles, pinkies linked. Brittany smiled wider seeing them. “I fixed it.”

Quinn hugged her. “I’m glad B, just make each other happy.” Brittany just nodded franticly.

Rachel pulled Santana into a hug as well whispering in her ear. “See, I told you.”

Santana hugged her tighter and nodded into her neck. “Thank you for keeping me sane Tiny.”

She leaned back and cupped her face. “Anytime. Now, we need to get to homeroom before Mr. Shue sends out a search party. He probably beat us there by now.” 

As they enter the class Will looks up. “You guys are late.”

Rachel steps forward. “Brittany was upset and crying so we were calming her down and making sure she was ok Mr. Shue.” The rest of the Gleeks eyes narrow at this. They hadn’t all heard about it yet and they weren’t happy. Britt may be a little different but she was theirs. Everyone loved her and they took care of their own.

Mr. Shue looked into Brittany’s puffy red eyes and nodded, just as upset as the others. “Ok guys, have a seat.”

The girls all nod and head back to their table. Quinn looks around and notices that Artie isn’t there yet. She smirks making eye contact with a grinning Puck, giving him a small nod and they all sit.

Rachel sits next to Santana and Quinn next to her, letting the girls sit together. After homeroom, San looks to Rachel. “You ok to make it to class Tiny? I want to walk B to hers.”

Rachel smiles. “Of course, I’ve made it there every day before you started walking with me.”

Santana slapped her playfully. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“I’ll be fine Santana.”

Quinn steps up next to Rachel. “Don’t worry S, I’ll walk with her. I won’t let anyone near her.”

Santana nods satisfied and walks away still attached at the pinky with Brittany.

Rachel turns to Quinn as they start to walk. “I’m really fine Quinn. You don’t need to feel obligated to walk with me because of Santana.”

Quinn shrugs. “You said it yourself. We’re friends, so I can walk with my friend to class if I want to. Unless you would prefer I didn’t.”

Rachel smiles. “I am more than happy to walk with you Quinn. Thank you.” She bumps Quinn’s shoulder with her own as they continue to class.

The rest of the day is uneventful. During all their classes Quinn either sits with or as close to Santana and Rachel as possible. At lunch the four sit together and the rest of the Gleeks minus Artie sit with them talking about Regionals. Free period and after school Glee practice goes well and they have their numbers almost down pat.

After practice San turns to Rachel. “Hey Tiny can we come over and order Chinese or something tonight?”

Rachel smiles shyly. “You don’t have to. I know you want to spend some time with Brittany.”

Santana puts a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, just cause we made up doesn’t mean I don’t want to spend time with my friend.”

Rachel looked away. “I just didn’t think you needed me anymore now that you had Brittany back.”

Santana pulls her into a hug. “I still need you Tiny. You’re one of the best people I know and my friend.”

Rachel sags against her in relief. “OK, then yes we can go back to my house and order some dinner.” She straightens and looks over to Quinn. “You are more than welcome to join us Quinn.”

Quinn looks down. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“You’re not intruding if you’re invited.” Rachel rubs a hand over her shoulder.

Brittany bounces in place. “Please Q, we haven’t spent any time together lately and now we have Rachie too. We need all four wheels.”

“She right, you’re out numbered Q, may as well give in now.” Santana smirks at her then turns loving eyes back to Brittany.

Quinn smiles. “Ok fine I’ll come. Rachel do you want to ride with me so you don’t go into sugar shock with these two on the way home?”

Rachel looks over to them as they just look at each other. “I think I will. I try to control my sugar intake and this may just be too much.”

They share a laugh and all head out to Rachel’s.

A/N: I will get to the shopping trip in the next chapter along with dinner at Rachel’s. It’s time to bring in more Quinn to the story as well as Brittany.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters. 

They all arrived at Rachel’s and piled into the house moving to the living room to collapse on the couch while Rachel moved to the kitchen. She came back with a bunch of different take-out menus and four bottles of water. “Ok ladies, what do we want to eat?”

They all leafed through the massive amount of take-out menus and Santana looked up at Rachel. “Jeez Tiny do you have a line on every take out place in town?”

Rachel shrugged. “My dad works a lot and I don’t like microwave food, so take-out is usually the easiest. I miss cooking, but I have a hard time cooking for just one person and I don’t like to waste food.”

The ex-cheerios shared a look then went back to looking over the menus. They settled on the Thai place on main and Rachel called the order in then sat back. “I love Glee, but I can’t wait for Regionals to be over. My legs are falling off from all the extra rehearsals. I’m not used to them anymore.”

Brittany was leaning against Santana and pulled Rachel’s legs into her lap and started massaging her tight calves. “Why not Rachie? Don’t you do all those dance classes at La Prima? I used to see you there sometimes.”

Rachel leaned against the arm of the couch and sighed at the relief in her legs. “That feels wonderful Brittany thank you. I used to, but I don’t take any of my classes anymore. Not for about a couple of months now. My elliptical broke two weeks ago and I don’t like to run outside in the dark mornings alone so I’m not getting my regular workouts.” 

Britt turned to Santana and Quinn behind her. “We should all start going to the school and run the track like we used to. I miss running with you guys and Rachie can come with us.”

Santana shrugged. “Sure, I’m cool with that. I hate running the damn treadmill at home. I prefer to run outside.” She turned to Quinn. “What about you?”

Quinn thought for a moment. “I miss running with you guys too. Sounds good to me, I hate the treadmill too and the noise irritates my mom that early in the morning so I’m game.”

They all looked to Rachel. “I would like that very much. I hate not getting my workout in, but I don’t have my car back yet so I will wait until then to join you.”

Santana shook her head. “I’m not letting you walk to school anymore Hobbs. It’s not safe, so I’ll come get you in the mornings.”

Quinn looked over to Rachel for a moment then to Santana. “I can get her in the mornings. I live closer and it makes more sense for you to pick up B instead of me getting her since she live closer to you.” She looked to Rachel. “If that’s ok with you?”

Rachel smiled. “I appreciate it but I don’t want to inconvenience anyone.”

Santana frowned. “It’s not an inconvenience if we offer Tiny. We’re friends and that’s how we roll. You get one of us you get us all. Get used to it.”

Rachel grabbed her hand and smile shyly. “Ok Santana.” Then looked to Quinn. “Thank you for the offer Quinn. I appreciate it very much, just let me know what time to be ready every morning.”

Quinn thought for a moment. “Well, if we are running we need to leave at what… 5:30 to give us time to shower after?”

Santana nodded. “Yea, that will leave us meeting at the school at 5:45, run for an hour, shower, change, and get to our lockers and homeroom in plenty of time. That time good for everyone?” She asked looking around as they all nodded.

Brittany clapped her hand enthusiastically. “Oh this will be so much fun, all of us together running again and Rachie too.”

They all chuckle at her enthusiasm and Santana kissed her head. “Yes it will be baby.”

The doorbell rang and Rachel moved to get up and get their food but Santana stopped her. “I’ll get it if you want to get some plates?”

Rachel nodded and headed in to the kitchen. “It’s already paid for, I’ll get what we need from the kitchen.”

When she came back, they had spread everything out on the coffee table with Brittany and Santana on one side and Quinn on the other. Rachel handed them the plates and silverware then sat beside Quinn. Quinn turned to her handing her some money. “Here’s our part of the food Rachel.”

Rachel shook her head. “No, my dads set me up at the restaurants. When I call they just charge it to them. It’s no problem. I have accounts set up all over town for whatever I need so it’s fine.”

They all looked confused sharing looks, then Santana leaned back. “Rachel, when’s the last time your dad’s were home?”

Rachel shrugged. “It’s been a while. The week after my birthday they left for a construction site in Europe somewhere. They own a construction firm. My daddy is an architect and my dad takes care of the business end of things. It’s a really big project. Dad says it will bring in more money than all of the projects they have done in the last 5 years put together.”

Santana was shocked. “I’m confused Tiny. What about the clothes thing costing too much?”

Rachel just shrugged again. “It was more about the principle of the thing than the money. As you can see from my house my family has money. He was just mad that I didn’t stick up for myself and the clothes were punishment.” She looked away and sighed having not wanted Quinn to know about that.

Santana gasped and rounded the table plopping down beside Rachel. “Shit Rae, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think before I said that. I would never break your confidence on purpose. Please forgive me.”

Rachel hugged her tight. “It’s ok Santana. I just don’t want it getting around at school that’s all.”

Santana nods into her neck and Brittany rubs Santana’s back still confused. “We won’t tell anyone anything Rachie, but I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” Quinn nodded her agreement.

Rachel sat back and sighed. “When I started getting slushied, I wouldn’t let my dads come down the school and do anything about it. My dad got mad at me for not sticking up for myself and started making be buy really cheap clothes that could be replaced easily. It’s my punishment for just taking it. I have to shop at the Goodwill for all my clothes and I only get $50 dollars a month to replace them.”

Quinn flinched. “Why though? Why didn’t you let them come to the school?”

Rachel spared her a glance and shrugged. “I had my reasons and I still stand by them.”

Brittany bounced. “You should have Mrs. H at the Goodwill help you Rachie. She finds all the good stuff. I always find the best stuff there.”

Santana smiled. “I’m taking her to see Mrs. H tomorrow after school. I already called her to look for her sizes.”

Brittany squealed and hugged Santana then grabbed Rachel’s hand. “Can I come help too Rachie? I love talking to Mrs. H.”

Rachel gave her hand a squeeze. “Of course you can. You can introduce me to Mrs. H. Now let’s eat before it gets too cold.”

They all settle in and passed the food around. None of them ordered anything with meat so they shared it all. Dinner was filled with lots of talking and laugher. Quinn and Brittany figured out as Santana had that when Rachel was calm and felt comfortable she was actually very funny and easier to talk to. 

Quinn watched her all night interact with them and it was like she had always been friend with them and she hated herself more for all she had started with the slushies and insults.

Once dinner was done they cleaned up and settled in to watch a movie. Santana and Rachel sat in the middle of the couch with Quinn and Brittany on either side of them. After the movie they all sat up and stretched. 

Rachel looked to the others. “You can all stay the night if you would like. It’s getting late.”

Brittany shook her head sadly. “I can’t, mom won’t let me sleep over on a school day.”

“Mine won’t either.” Quinn said beside her.

Santana stood. “Well I’m staying, I brought extra clothes in my bag last night. I hate being alone at my house and your bed is more comfortable than mine. Plus I enjoy your company. I’ll just run Britt home and come back.”

Quinn shook her head. “I can take Britt home. There’s no reason for you to get out when I have to already. It’s not that far, so it’s not a problem, I’ll still make curfew.”

Santana looked to Britt. “That ok with you baby?”

Brittany kissed her lightly. “Yep.” She hugged Rachel, thanking her for dinner then Santana walked her out to the car.

Quinn turned to Rachel. “Well, thanks for dinner and having me over Rachel. I had a good time.”

Rachel smiled. “It was my pleasure. You’re more than welcome anytime.”

Quinn grabbed her hand with a squeeze then headed toward the door. “Since San is staying here I’ll see you at the school in the morning for our run. Good night Rachel.”

Rachel walked her to the door. “Good night Quinn. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that she was off to her car and Santana came back in. Rachel turned off the TV and DVD player and met her at the door to lock up then they headed off to bed.

The next morning Santana and Rachel picked up Brittany and pulled into the school to find Quinn sitting in her car waiting for them. Quinn faltered as she got out of her car seeing Rachel in a hoodie and a pair of tight, extremely short running shorts that left nothing to the imagination. Quinn was unaware of Rachel having the same reaction to her similar outfit. As Rachel watched Quinn climb out, her toned, ivory legs on full display her breath caught and held for a moment.

Santana and Britt shared a look and smirked at their friend’s reaction to each other. Quinn and Rachel shook out of their inappropriate thoughts and they all headed to the track where they all sat and started stretching. 

Quinn watched Santana lean on Brittany’s back to help her stretch then looked to Rachel. “Hey Rach, can you help me with this stretch?”

Rachel nodded and moved in behind her leaning her whole body into her back to give her a full stretch. Quinn didn’t know what had possessed her to ask Rachel to do this, but it was absolutely distracting in the best possible way to have her entire front pressed into her back the way it was. It was driving her crazy.

After giving Quinn a full stretch Rachel sat and turned to Quinn. “Would you do me next?”

Quinn swallowed hard and moved to her. “Sure.” Just like Rachel had, she pressed in with her whole body pushing into her.

Rachel wasn’t sure what was worse or better. Pressing her body into Quinn or feeling Quinn pressing into her. The feeling was intoxicating and she never wanted it to end. Unfortunately it ended far too soon for either of them and they joined San and Brittany for their run.

They set a decent pace and matched each other well getting a good workout in from their run. They playfully raced the last 100 yards laughing as Santana just barely beat Quinn. After a cooldown they headed into the regular locker room to showered and changed for their day. They entered the halls together. Rachel was wearing a black skirt today with a white button down that she left unbuttoned and tied at the waist with a red tank underneath. Heads turned and the students still parted the seas for the three ex-cheerios. Even though they were no longer on the squad the students treated them no different, and Rachel earned more than a few stares of her own.

After going to their lockers, they hung out by the door of homeroom talking waiting on the bell. Santana and Brittany were still not coming out to anyone but their two friends so they just held pinkies like always. Quinn and Rachel stood in front of them talking about the sleepover after Regionals and possible things they could do.

Finn walked up and put an arm around Quinn’s shoulder. Rachel moved slightly away as his arm brushed her arm. “Hey Quinn, why don’t you come sit with me in homeroom today?”

Quinn looked up. “I always sit with the girls and we are having a conversation Finn.”

Finn removed his arm. “Can’t you leave them for one damn class period? You never sit with or walk with me. Can’t you do what I want for once?” His fists were clenched at his sides and his chest was heaving.

Quinn turned and stepped back toward Rachel. “You have barely talked to me or acknowledged my presence all week so forgive me if I don’t care what you want. I’m sitting with my friends.”

Rachel put a hand on her shoulder and Finn glared at it before looking into her eyes again. “Your friends? Satan cares about no one but herself, Brittany just does whatever she says and you hate Rachel. Why are you even talking to them? You can’t be that stupid to think any of them care about you at all.”

Santana moved toward him. “Back off asshole. We all care about her a hell of a lot more than you do. Instead of spending time with or talking to her this week you spent it chasing after my hobbit even after she told you repeatedly to stop. We love her you idiot maybe you should try it.”

Finn pushed into her with his body causing her to stumble back a step into Brittany. “You don’t know what the hell you are talking about Satan. Stay out of my business.”

Quinn pushed in between them as Rachel and Brittany pulled a fuming Santana away from him. “Stop this Finn. You need to go calm down. I’m sitting with the girls like always, get over yourself.” She turned to go into the classroom and he grabbed her arm pulling her back.

She looked at his hand then back up to him with fire in her eyes. “I suggest you remove that or eat it.” She said with so much controlled rage, he immediately released it and stepped back. “Touch me again without permission and you will be eating your meals from a straw for the rest of your life. Is that clear Finn?”

He nodded and she saw fear along with the anger in his eyes as she turned and grabbed a still struggling Santana. She pushed her into the classroom and back to their seats with Brittany and Rachel following close behind. Once released Santana grabbed her cardigan and pulled it down to inspect her arm.

Quinn pulled it back up after she didn’t see a mark. “He didn’t hurt me just pissed me off. I’m ok San.”

Rachel sat on the other side of her. “Are you sure Quinn? It’s not bruising?”

Quinn grabbed her hand and squeezed lightly. “I’m fine Rachel.”

Mr. Shue came in and they all settled to let him take role. Rachel looks at Quinn and on the outside she looks fine, just as confident as always but the trembling hand that never released hers gives her away as it clutches tightly. Rachel leans into her trying to comfort her as best she could. 

At the contact, Quinn’s hand relaxes a little but the trembling remained. Once the bell rings Rachel catches Santana’s eye and pulls Quinn out of the room and down the hall to a closet and pulls her into it. Closing the door she grabs Quinn and hugs her tight as she collapses into her.

Rachel rubs soothing circles on her back. “You’re ok Quinn. I’ve got you.”

Quinn trembles against her. “He scared me. He’s never done anything like that before”

Tightening her hold, Rachel speaks softly into her ear. “I know, it scared me too but we wouldn’t have let him hurt you. We were about to release Santana but you handled him. You stood up for yourself and he let go. You scared him Quinn. I could see it in his eyes. You’re ok.”

After a few minutes, she calmed down and squeezed Rachel once more before stepping back. “Thank you Rachel.”

Rachel just smiled. “Anytime, you just needed a moment. Are you ok now?”

Quinn nodded. “Yes, I’m ok.”

Grabbing her hand again, Rachel opened the door. “Ok, let’s head to class. I’m sure Santana is a nervous wreck by now.”

Quinn chuckled. “No doubt, she looked ready to tear him apart when I pushed her into class.”

Rachel laughed. “Oh she was, I don’t think Brittany and I could have held her much longer.”

They released hands and headed to class. They were late but luckily the teacher was late as well. Santana sagged in relief seeing them and knowing they were ok. Once they sat beside her she put her arm around Quinn. “You ok Quinn? Did our hobbit fix you?”

Quinn laughed. “I’m fine San, she just knew I needed a minute to compose myself.”

San nodded and kissed her head. “Good.”

They all settled and gave their attention to the teacher as she rushed in apologizing and got started on the day’s work. The rest of the day was uneventful. Finn kept his distance from all of them and they just ignored him when they saw him. Both Glee practices went well and they were ready for the competition tomorrow. 

After school practice ended and they were heading out to the cars when Finn approached them. “Quinn, can we talk please.” He gave his best puppy dog face.

She stiffened her spine. “Not now, we are on our way out. I don’t have the time or the inclination to talk to you right now.”

He didn’t look happy but didn’t argue. “Can I call you tonight at least?”

Quinn shook her head. “Not tonight Finn, please. I’ll see you tomorrow. I just need some time.”

He looked down sadly but not before Rachel caught the angry look in his eyes. “Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow then.” With that he walked away.

Quinn watched him walk away with her spine still stiff until he was out of site then totally deflated, her head bowed down taking deep breaths. Rachel moved closer and lay a hand on her lower back. “Quinn?”

Turning around Quinn fell into her arms shaking. Santana and Brittany were instantly wrapped around them. Rachel pulled her as close as she could moving her hand up her back and into her hair to massage lightly with her nails. “You’re ok. We have you.”

Quinn shivered and totally melted into the embrace that was all around her. Once she calmed she pulled back and they all released her but didn’t move far. Santana rubbed her shoulder looking concerned. “You ok Q?”

Quinn took a deep breath and straightened her spine again. “Yes, I’m fine, thank you.”

Rachel grabbed her bag that she dropped to the ground and handed it back to her. “Why don’t we get out of here and get to shopping? I needs to gets my makeover on.”

They all laughed loudly having the desired affect Rachel wanted to lighten the mood and get Quinn to finish calming. Santana clapped her on the back. “God Tiny, just no.”

They all laughed again and started walking to their cars. It was decided that Rachel would ride with Quinn and they followed Santana and Brittany to the store. Time to get their shopping on.

A/N: Next shopping and Regionals.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters. 

On the way to the store, Rachel watches Quinn out of the corner of her eye as she drove. Again Quinn seems fine, but Rachel can see the underlying fear and anger. She wants nothing more than to grab her hand and comfort her, but she’s afraid of pushing too hard, so she just lets it go for now. 

When they pull into the parking lot, Brittany pulls her toward the store as soon as she gets out of the car. “You’re going to love Mrs. H. She’s so awesome.”

She doesn’t stop until they reach the counter and waves at the older lady. “Hi Mrs. H.”

The woman smiles. “Well hello there Brittany. How is my favorite customer today?”

“I’m great. We brought Rachie in to get some clothes today since you are so awesome at getting the good stuff.”

Mrs. Harman smiles and chuckles at the girl’s excitement. She loved that girl to pieces. She turned to Rachel as Quinn and Santana moved in behind them. “I take it you’re the Rachel Santana told me about? My name is Mrs. Harman. It’s nice to meet you dear.”

Rachel shakes her hand. “It’s lovely to meet you too Mrs. Harman. Thank you for all of your help”

She waved her off. “Anything for a friend of my girls here. Now, let’s see what I have found for you today.”

She leads the girls over to a rack beside the counter. “These are all the size Santana asked for and most of them are on our green tag sale going on this week which makes them half off. You are welcome to wheel the rack back to the dressing room to try anything on. Let me know if you need any help dear.”

Rachel smiles brightly. “Thank you Mrs. Harman, I will.”

Santana grabs the rack and pulls it to the back toward the dressing rooms. “Ok Tiny let’s get your makeover on.”

They go through the rack and Santana is overjoyed that Rachel seems to like everything. All totaled, there are ten complete outfits, and several types of shoes. They put outfits together and Rachel tries them all on. Quinn helps by adding up the amounts for the outfits that Rachel likes. 

Everything fits her well and she looked great in all of them so far. They still have a few more outfits to go when she comes out in a red dress that is sleeveless, form fitting and sits just above the knee.

Quinn and Santana’s jaws hit the floor and Brittany claps in delight. “Oh Rachie you have to get that one. You look good enough to lick like a cherry lollypop.”

Rachel turns almost as red as the dress and turns to Santana and Quinn. “I think it’s a little too much.”

Santana shakes her head. “Oh no Tiny. It’s gorgeous on you. You have to take it or I will buy it for you and make you take it.”

Rachel looks to Quinn for her vote. Quinn just nods her head. “Yea, what San said. Must have it.”

Santana smirks at her friend’s inability to form a proper sentence. “See, you have to get it.”

Rachel looks at herself in the mirror. “I don’t know where I’ll ever wear it to, but I guess I’ll get it. It’s only $2, so it won’t take much away from my everyday clothing budget.” She turns back around and goes back to try the next outfit.

Santana leans over to Quinn and whispers in her ear. “She’s going to knock someone’s panties off in that thing.”

Quinn just shakes her head trying to knock some sense into herself and walks over to the rack. “Yea, she really is.” As she sifts through the remaining clothing she picks up a shirt and looks at it closely then turns to Santana. “Um San?”

Santana walks over to her. “What’s up?”

Quinn holds the shirt up. “I recognize this shirt San. I got it for you when we went to Hawaii a few years ago.”

San pulls her out of hearing distance from Brittany. “Shh… You can’t say anything.”

Quinn just looks confused then a light goes off. “Um… These are all your old clothes aren’t they San? You’re doing what you do for Britt aren’t you?”

“Yes, but you can’t tell her. I would have just given them to her if she would have taken them but she won’t. Little Hobbs has too much pride for that. It’s our fault she was slushied so bad and I just want to make it up to her, even if she never knows I did it.”

Quinn smiles. “It’s fine San, I won’t say anything. She looks awesome in all of them doesn’t she?”

Santana just beams. “I know right. I picked out the best of all my old stuff. She looks phenomenal.”

Quinn doesn’t get to say anymore as Rachel comes out in the next outfit. She finishes trying everything on and is now trying to decide what to buy. “I just don’t know how to choose.”

Quinn moves up next to her and shows her the calculator on her phone. “Just get it all Rach. All totaled it comes to $41.50 and you said you have $50.”

Rachel shakes her head. “I don’t think I need all of them.”

Brittany starts pushing the rack back up to the counter. “You have to get them all. Mrs. H might get her feelings hurt if you don’t. She works hard to pick stuff out.”

Santana just smile. “Can’t argue with that Tiny. Better follow her and just buy them all, it still leaves you with change when you’re done.”

Rachel shakes her head amusedly. “Ok fine, I give up. I will purchase them all.”

As she walks off, Santana sends a triumphant smile to Quinn and they follow behind her. 

They load up all the clothes in Quinn’s car after talking to Mrs. H for a few and decide to go to Breadsticks for dinner before heading home. Quinn is still a little tense and Santana and Rachel are worried. Rachel wants them to stay the night with her so Quinn doesn’t have to be alone and she just wants her friends with her tonight. She’s gotten used to Santana being there and she’s not ready to be alone again just yet.

She takes a breath and decides to just ask the girls. “Why doesn’t everyone sleep at my house tonight? We can all ride in together in the morning without making extra stops.”

Santana nods. “That’s fine with me. Britt already has an overnight bag and I can stop by the house and get what I need for tonight and tomorrow.”

Quinn shrugged. “I’ll ask, it shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll run home and get a bag packed and meet you guys back at your house.”

Rachel nods happily. “Do you want me to ride with you Quinn? I can help you gather your things.”

Quinn thinks for a moment then shrugs again. “Sure.” She decided the other day that if she couldn’t be with the girl the way she wanted, she was going to be friends with Rachel at least since she was always with Santana these days anyway. It was becoming harder and harder for her to stay away from her and if they were friend she didn’t have to.

Rachel smiled brightly and tucked back into her dinner happily. Once dinner is done, Quinn and Rachel head out to Quinn’s house. She already texted her mom to ask permission and just needed to grab a bag for the next two days. 

When they pull up Quinn turns the car off and looks to Rachel. “You can come in with me if you want or you can wait here. My mom is kind of weird, I don’t think she will say anything about your dads, but I never know what that woman will say.”

Rachel looks to the house. “I’ll go with you. There’s nothing she can say that I haven’t heard before Quinn.”

Quinn nods sadly and they exit the car and make their way into the house. Quinn paused in the foyer. “Mom, I’m home.”

“In the kitchen Quinn.”

Quinn smiles slightly over her shoulder to Rachel and leads her into the kitchen where Judy is putting cookies into a container. “Mom, this is my friend Rachel Berry.”

Judy looked up, wiping her hands as she came around the counter. “It’s nice to meet you Rachel, although we met briefly last year.”

Rachel shook her hand. “It’s a pleasure to see you again Mrs. Fabray. You have a lovely home.”

Judy smile. “Thank you dear.” She looked to Quinn with a playful smirk. “You actually brought a friend home that has manners Quinn, I’m impressed.”

Quinn groaned. “Mom!”

Rachel chuckled. “Its fine Quinn, manners are important. I find it necessary to make a good impression in order for me to continue to facilitate a friendship while making sure my friend’s parents are comfortable having their child in my presence.”

Quinn shook her head in amusement at the very Berry comment while Judy just beamed looking back to her. “See, she gets it.”

They all share a laugh and Judy turns back to Rachel. “Berry, your Leroy’s daughter?”

“Yes ma’am.” Rachel answers stealing herself for the reaction.

Judy just smiles. “Your father and I were friends in high school and went to college together at OSU. I met your other father a few times after they started dating. We lost touch after I dropped out of college and married Quinn’s donor. How is he doing these days?”

Rachel and Quinn were both taken aback by this, but Rachel recovered quickly. “He’s doing fine. Working on a big project right now.”

Judy nodded and walked back around the counter. “Tell him I said hi. It’s been a long time since we spoke. Anyway, I made cookies for your sleepover tomorrow and I packed some extras for tonight. I know how Santana is and if I didn’t, you would have any for tomorrow night.”

Quinn just continued to look at her stunned. “Um, thanks mom. We’re going to go up and pack some stuff for the weekend. I’ll come find you before I leave.”

Judy smiled with a nod and went back to packing cookies. Quinn grabbed Rachel’s hand and pulled her up the stairs behind her. Once her door is closed she looked at Rachel. “That was weird. I’ve never heard her talk about knowing him while my donor was spewing crap about your dads.”

Rachel shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe because they had been friends and she didn’t want to say anything.” 

“Well that just blew my mind. I always thought she felt like my donor did about gay people.” She shrugged it off for later thought and grabbed the things she needed for the weekend. 

Thirty minutes later, they came down the stairs and went back to the kitchen to find Judy drinking coffee doing a crossword puzzle. She looked up and smile. “You all set dear?”

“Yes mom, we’re about to head out and meet up with Brittany and Santana.”

Judy handed her a bag with their cookies in it. “Ok then, you girls have fun tonight and at the big sleepover. I’ll see you tomorrow at the competition.”

Quinn looked up smiling brightly. “You’re coming?”

“Of course dear. You guys were so amazing last year I have to see what you do this year. I wish I had been able to get off work to go to Sectionals.”

Quinn hugged her mom and Rachel shook her hand again. “It was nice seeing you again Mrs. Fabray.”

Judy waved her off. “Call me Judy dear, no need to be so formal.”

“Ok Judy, thank you.”

They grabbed Quinn’s things and the cookie bag and headed off to Rachel’s. Once there Quinn grabbed the smaller container of cookies and one of her bags as Rachel took the other. “I’m leaving the cookies for tomorrow in the car or San will eat them all. She loves mom’s cookies.” They both chuckled.

After dropping Quinn’s things in Rachel’s room they brought in all of Rachel’s new clothes. Rachel started a load of laundry so she could pack some of her new things for the weekend and they settled in the living room to wait for Santana and Brittany to get there.

Rachel leaned her head back and sighed. “I can’t believe how tired I am. I guess the run this morning on top of Glee practice wore me out.”

Quinn chuckled leaning back herself. “Yea, my legs are sore. I usually only run on the treadmill for thirty minutes but Britt and San like to run for an hour. Thirty minutes is not long enough for Britt to even break a sweat. I swear that girl is like the energizer bunny. I don’t know where she gets her energy from.”

“I’ve noticed. When we used to take gymnastics together she was always moving and never seemed to get tired. I used to envy her stamina.”

“I still do. The first year we were in cheer camp she ran circles around all of us, still does. She’s pretty amazing.”

Rachel hummed her acknowledgement then looked over as Santana and Brittany came into the house. “Hey Tiny, I hope you don’t mind our just coming in. I still have the key you gave me the other day that I need to give back.”

Rachel waved her off. “Keep it, you never know when you’ll need it. You’re always welcome to just come in if I know you are coming.” She stood and walked over taking a bag from her. “Why don’t we go and curl up in my room to watch movies. It will be move comfortable.

They all agreed and headed up. They set all the bags down and Santana pounced on the cookie container when she saw it. “Mrs. F for the win. I love her cookies.”

The others laughed at her and settle on Rachel’s bed for the movie after changing into their bed clothes. Quinn and Rachel wanted to enjoy the movie, but ten minutes in Santana and Brittany were no longer watching, too consumed with each other. Rachel and Quinn sat a little uncomfortably.

Rachel nudged Santana when they seemed to be letting hands roam more and more than a few moans slipped out. “Santana, across the hall to the left and one door down, is the guest room if you’d prefer to sleep in there.”

San immediately got up and pulled Brittany with her out the door. “Thanks Tiny. Good night, see you two in the morning.” And they were off, the door closing behind them.

Quinn and Rachel laughed at their hasty exit and Rachel looked back to Quinn. “Thank god my room is soundproofed. Do you want to restart the movie now that we can concentrate on it?”

Quinn laughed some more and nodded. “Yes, I actually really wanted to see this one.”

Rachel smiled and restarted the movie as they scooted down in bed getting more comfortable to watch. 

Halfway into the movie Rachel’s eyes started drooping closed and she noticed a weight on her shoulder. She looked over and saw that Quinn had fallen asleep resting her head on her shoulder. She pulled the blanket over them, turned off the TV and drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.

A/N: Next Regionals


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters. 

Rachel woke the next morning and looked blurrily at the clock, 3:03. She frowned not knowing what woke her. She moved to stretch but was stopped by an arm around her. Looking behind her she smile sleepily at the blonde behind her. Quinn was now her big spoon. She turned back and snuggled back into her figuring it wouldn’t hurt anything and they still had almost two hours to sleep before they had to get up. Quinn’s arm tightened and Rachel fell almost instantly back to sleep.

At 4:22 Quinn awoke and squinted at the head of dark hair in front of her. Blinking she looked around then remembered where she was and who was now in her arms. She smile and would be lying if she said she wasn’t more than comfortable right now. So at least to herself she would be honest and just stay where she was for the moment and enjoy the feel of Rachel in her arms.

As much as she loved having her arms around the other girl it was bittersweet. She couldn’t keep her once they were awake. She would have to let go and pretend to just want her as a friend and it killed her a little more inside. She was starting to believe that Rachel cared for her more than just a friend. Though she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why. She had been horrible to her, but still Rachel always sought her out. 

None of it matter though. She couldn’t have her the way she had always wanted. Since meeting her at orientation freshman year Quinn had cared for her and it only grew throughout the last 3 years. She needed her home though and her mom. She couldn’t risk losing them both again. She and her mother had a weird relationship but she loved her. After throwing her donor out and bringing Quinn home they had gotten closer than ever before. It broke her heart that she had to choose between her mother and the only other person she was terrified of losing. 

They had formed a tentative friendship this year and Quinn had liked talking to her more. Now they were quickly becoming good friends and it was harder and harder to hide her feelings. She fought those feelings hard not willing to risk ruining Rachel’s chances by tying her down to her and getting stuck in Lima. This was one of the reasons she didn’t want her with Finn, she truly believed that Rachel was destined for greatness and neither of them would be the cause of her losing her dreams. She would just settle for friendship so she didn’t lose her completely from her life.

She was brought out of her inner musings and froze as Rachel turned over in her sleep. She wrapped her arm around her waist, burrowed into Quinn’s neck, and draped her leg over her hip. Quinn breath caught as Rachel didn’t wake at all just settle back into her asleep. 

Trying to calm her nerves, she relished the feel for just a moment before shaking her gently. “R-Rach, we gotta get up now.”

Rachel groaned and kissed her neck softly. “No… sleepy…”

Biting her lip to stifle a moan at the feel of Rachel lip on her neck she shook her again. “Come on Rae. Time to get up.”

Rachel grunted burrowed in further and started kissing up her neck to her jaw. Quinn couldn’t keep still anymore and started running a hand up her back as a groan escaped her. She was only human after all. “Rachel… please we have to move. I-It’s time to get up.” She shook her a little harder and Rachel finally opened her eyes.

She looked up and met fully blown green orbs and her breath caught. Quinn’s breathing was erratic and she looked down noticing she was practically on top of the girl, her thigh now nestled between Quinn’s. Blushing deeply she met her eyes again and moved to pull away. “I’m so sorry Quinn. I didn’t mean to use you as a body pillow.”

Quinn looked into chocolate pools and couldn’t stop herself. She pulled Rachel back to her, her body not listening to her brain as she leaned in to kiss her but before she could take her lips the alarm went off startling both of them.

Quinn released her and moved off the bed. “Sorry, um, can I use your shower?”

Rachel sat watching her retreating form trying to calm her heartrate. “Of course. We need to be to the school by 6:00.”

Quinn nodded and fled to the bathroom. Rachel just watched the door for a moment cursing her alarm. She was sure that Quinn had been about to kiss her. As happy as she was about that she was perplexed as well. She never in a million years suspected that Quinn would ever want to kiss her.

As she got up her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening and Santana and Brittany coming into the room. They were both wrapped in towels freshly showered. “Good morning Rachie. You need to get ready, we have to leave soon.”

Rachel shook out of her daze and looked to her friends. “I’m sorry, I was lost in thought. I’m just going to use the shower in the other room. I’ll be ready in time.”

San narrowed her eyes at the timid quality in Rachel’s voice. “You ok Tiny?”

Rachel grabbed her hand as she passes and squeezed in lightly. “I’m perfectly fine Santana. I’ll be back in a few moment.” Then she was out the door.

Santana watched her leave concerned. “I wonder what that was all about. She looked lost there for a minute.”

Brittany shrugged. “Q was probably throwing mixed signals.”

Santana looked at her shocked. “What? She better not be leading my hobbit on and hurt her.”

“She’s not, she actually really likes Rachie but she’s scared. You remember what that’s like so don’t be too hard on her San.”

Santana’s anger deflated and she sighed. “I just don’t want to see her hurt anymore B. We’ve hurt her enough.”

Brittany wrapped her arms around her. “I know San but you have to let them figure themselves out but we’ll help. No worries.”

San kissed her lightly, “ok babe,” then they moved to get dresses.

By the time Rachel came back Santana and Brittany were fully ready to go and Quinn was almost there herself. She was back to her usual school bubbly self and Santana didn’t like it. She wanted her calm happy friend back. “Just give me ten minutes and I will be ready. I packed my bag for your house last night Santana if you want to take it down for me.”

Santana walked over and hugged her, happy to feel some of the tension release from Rachel as she did. “Sure thing Tiny.” She move away and grabbed her and Rachel’s bags and followed Brittany to the door. 

Rachel grabbed her under clothes and went into her closet. She pulled out clothes for the day and dressed quickly coming out fully dressed and moved into the bathroom to fix her hair. She decided to forgo makeup since they would be caked in stage makeup soon enough.

When she came back out Quinn was gone as well and she grabbed her purse and headed downstairs. Santana grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the house. “Let go drop Q’s car at mine, then we have just enough time for coffee and muffins from the Lima Bean on the way to the school.”

They all agreed and we off. When they pulled into the school and got out Rachel was instantly in Captain Mode and was instructing on loading their costumes properly on the bus as the others arrived. Santana leaned against the bus sipping her coffee and just smiled watching her. She glance over at Quinn and noticed her doing the same.

Santana shoulder bumps Quinn lightly. “She’s pretty awesome huh?”

Quinn looks at her then back to Rachel. “Yea, she’s pretty amazing. I’m glad we’re all friends with her now.”

Santana hums her agreement then glares as Finn approaches them. “Hey Quinn.”

Quinn sighs. “Finn.”

Finn looks down. “Can we talk now?”

Quinn shakes her head. “Look, we don’t have time right now and we are almost ready to get on the bus. We’ll talk tomorrow or something. Now really isn’t the time.”

Finn looks up at her. “Then sit with me and we can talk on the way there or not talk or whatever. Just sit with me.”

Quinn takes a deep breath. “No, just let it be Finn. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

He starts to argue but Rachel comes up to them. “Hey, it’s time to board the bus. Everything is loaded and ready.”

Quinn looks to her gratefully. “Sure Rach, let’s go.” She steps around him putting Santana, Brittany and Rachel between them, and they head to the bus door.

Rachel places her hand on Quinn’s back as they walk. “Are you ok?”

“Yes, I just really don’t want to deal with him right now.” Quinn paused looking away for a moment then looked back to Rachel. “Is it ok if I sit with you Rach?”

Rachel smiled and rubbed her arm. “Of course it is.”

Santana and Brittany take their seats first and Quinn and Rachel sit behind them. Finn scowls at them all as he passes and takes a seat alone.

Mr. Shue is the last to board. “Ok guys, the ride there will take about an hour. Once we get there I will check us in and we will find our green room and hand out your costumes for you to change. This is our year guys. I can feel it.” They all cheer as the bus rolls out.

The ride there was uneventful. Once they got checked in and changed they found out they were singing last so they made their way to their seats to watch the competition. Rachel and Santana flanked Quinn with Brittany beside Santana. Finn scowled at them as he passed them to his own seat. As they watched the performer their confidence grew and the Gleeks just knew they had this in bag. With the awesome group number they wrote together and they solo Rachel wrote, there was no way they wouldn’t win. 

They were backstage touching up their makeup and preparing to go on Rachel’s nerves started to get the better of her but she tried not to show it. Santana straightened from her mirror. “Hey Tiny, get the led out. We need to get out there if you want the hot honey and lemon water you insisted they provide us.”

Rachel chuckled. “Go ahead, I’ll be there in a moment.”

Quinn watched her closely and saw the slight tremor in her hands. As Santana and Brittany left the area she walked over and took the makeup brush from Rachel and stared applying her makeup for her. “What’s the matter Rachel?”

Rachel took a deep breath and sighed. “I don’t know, I’m just so nervous.”

Quinn was a little shocked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you have stage fright before. You have nothing to worry about Rachel. That song you wrote is amazing.”

Rachel looked into her eyes. “I think so too, but what if they don’t like it. That song means more to me then you understand and I don’t know what I’ll do if it’s not received well.” Looking down at her hands she fidgets in place.

Quinn tips her head up and looks in her eyes. “The crowd and the judges are going to love it Rach. I know I do and so does the rest of the group. It’s personal for you so it’s making you jittery but you will be amazing like always. I can’t wait to hear you sing it out there.”

Looking into her eyes, Rachel sees nothing but sincerity. Since that morning she’s been trying to decide what to do about their almost kiss. In that moment she decided to be honest. “It is very personal for me Quinn. I meant every word I wrote and I need you to listen carefully when I sing it.”

Quinn’s shock is all over her face as she opened her mouth to speak but Santana rushed in at that moment with a cup in each hand. “Jeez Tiny, you’re gorgeous already. We gotta get set, here.” She hands Rachel and Quinn the cups and pulls them out of the room.

With no time to say more Rachel spares a glance at Quinn as the Gleeks get set on either side of the stage. On her cue she takes the stage questioning in her mind if she just made a big mistake confessing that to Quinn. She looks over and locks eyes with her once more then the music begins.

What have I done?  
I wish I could run,  
Away from this ship going under  
Just trying to help  
Hurt everyone else  
Now I feel the weight of the world is on my shoulders

What can you do when your good isn't good enough  
And all that you touch tumbles down?  
Cause my best intentions  
Keep making a mess of things,  
I just wanna fix it somehow  
But how many times will it take?  
Oh, how many times will it take for me to get it right, to get it right?

Her nerves calm as Brittany and Tina take their places behind her and smiles as they blend with her perfectly.

Can I start again, with my fate shaken?  
Cause I can't go back and undo this  
I just have to stay and face mistakes,  
But if I get stronger and wiser, I'll get through this

What can you do when you're good isn't good enough?  
And all that you touch tumbles down?  
Cause my best intentions keep making a mess of things,  
I just wanna fix it somehow  
But how many times will it take?  
Oh, how many times will it take for me to get it right?

Taking a deep breath and locking eyes with Quinn one last time. she moves forward and pushes through the hardest part for her to get out.

So I throw up my fists, throw a punch in the air,  
And accept the truth that sometimes life isn't fair!  
Yeah, I'll send down a wish and I'll send up a prayer  
And then finally someone will see how much I care

Quinn watches with awe through the whole song as Rachel nails it and her heart is beating so fast and hard she can barely breathe, her heart skipping a beat every time they locked eyes. As she and the other girls take the stage she pushes through her erratic breathing to sing back up while they get set behind Rachel. She never noticed that Finn was standing right behind her the whole time with a goofy grin on his face.

What can you do when you're good isn't good enough?  
And all that you touch tumbles down?  
Cause my best intentions keep making a mess of things,  
I just wanna fix it somehow  
But how many times will it take?  
Oh, how many times will it take for me to get it right, to get it right?

The crowd was on their feet and cheering madly as she finished her solo. Rachel introduced them and they tore the place down with ‘Loser Like Me’. As the crowd cheered Finn threw an arm around Rachel smiling and laughing. She gave him a half smile and moved away and toward Santana, Brittany and Quinn on the end of the row. Quinn noticed the hug and Rachel’s uncomfortable look. She threw a look at them then gladly accepted the hug Rachel gave her when she rushed over to them.

Santana picked her up in a hug and spun her around. “That was awesome Tiny. You killed it.”

Rachel laughed as she was put down. “I must say, singing original songs is a bigger rush then singing anything else.”

Quinn hugged her again after Brittany and Santana and whispered in her ear. “I told you you’d be great Rach.” Then pulled back.

Rachel didn’t have time to say anything before the group was ushered off the stage and she was engulfed in a group hug.

The whole group stood on stage a while later awaiting the results. Rachel stood between Quinn and Santana and the group all held hands hoping for the win.

“The winners of the 2011 Regionals Championship… From McKinley High in Lima Ohio, The New Directions!!!!!!

They all cheered as the four girls hugged and jumped around together then accepted their trophy. 

A/N: Next the sleepover.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters. 

After they got back to the green room they all went to change and pack up to leave. Rachel and the girls were gathering their makeup when Santana called out to her. “Hey Tiny, were going to help pack this stuff, get a move on.”

Rachel chuckled. “Ok Santana, I’ll hurry. I just got to finish putting my makeup away.”

Santana scowled at her. “You know for someone so little you sure have a lot of unnecessary crap.”

“I’ll have you know that I simply have everything I need to be prepared for anything Santana Lopez.”

Quinn laughed at the two of them. “Yea Rach, like the apocalypse.”

Rachel huffed while they laughed. “Ha ha very funny. Just remember when the end of time come who to talk too.”

This caused them all to laugh harder including Rachel. “Will do Hobbs, will do. But seriously, get to it so we can get home. We got a sleepover to set up for.”

Rachel waved her off. “Ok, ok I’m coming.”

The other three walked off to help pack up the costumes still laughing. After they were out of hearing distance Finn walks up on her other side. “Hey Rach, that song was really awesome.”

Startled she looks up sharply. “Thank you Finn, that song means a lot to me.”

He nods putting a hand on her shoulder. “It does to me too Rach, thank you.”

Rachel steps back from his touch. “Thank you for what?”

Finn just grins. “For the song of course. It means the world to me that you wrote that for me.”

Shocked she just shook her head. “I didn’t write that song for you Finn. Why would you think that?”

“Oh come on Rachel. You know you did. You couldn’t keep your eyes off me during the performance. You were singing right to me.”

“I most certainly was not Finn. I only looked to the side of the stage twice and that was to look to my friends for courage to get me through a difficult song for me to sing. I’m sorry if you thought I was looking at you, but I unsure you that I was not.” By this time she was getting upset that he wouldn’t listen and has her arms crossed in front of her.

Finn shook his head angrily. “Your friends were not even on that side of the stage. Kurt and Mercedes were on the other side.”

“Brittany and Quinn were standing right there. I do have more than two friends in this group Finn. My song was not written for you, it was written for someone else entirely.”

Rachel started to turn away from him and he grabbed her arm pulling her back. “They are not your friends and stop lying to me Rachel. I know you wrote it for me there’s no one else that would have you for you to write it for. I saw how you were looking at me.”

Rachel tried to pull out of his grasp. “Let go Finn.”

“Not until you stop LYING to me!!” He roared at her as his grip tightened causing her to cry out.

Across the room the rest of the group looked up at him yelling and were there in an instant when they heard Rachel cry out.

The girls made it first and Santana pushed him away as Brittany and Quinn pulled Rachel back. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Puck and Sam grabbed him as he lunges for Santana. “Get off me. Stay out of this Satan.”

Rachel was buried into Quinn trembling and Quinn just glared at him since she wasn’t letting go. “You need to stop. Don’t you ever touch her like that again.” 

Santana moved to push him again and was pulled back by Lauren. “I warned you that if you ever laid a hand on her again I would fucking ends you, you son of a bitch.”

He just lunged forward again. “It’s none of your business Slutana. I didn’t hurt her.”

Quinn looked up shocked tightening her grip on Rachel. “What do you mean again?”

Santana looked back to Rachel who just nodded then looked back to Quinn. “He grabbed her the other day like that on her other arm because she didn’t want to talk to him. He left a really bad bruise that’s still there and that wasn’t the first time either from what Rachel said.”

Gasps were heard around the room at this. Quinn turned red with fury. “Is that true?” Rachel just nodded her chest, tears still pouring out of her. Quinn wiped her face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think you’d believe me and think I was just trying to get you to break up with him.”

Quinn looked down in shame because at the time she probably would have. When she looked back up Rachel saw the rage in her eyes. She gently pushed Rachel into Brittany’s arms and turned back walking up to Finn, who was still struggling to get loose from the hold the boys had tightened on him at Santana’s words. “Your life is over as you know it. I will reign hell fire on your ass until graduation you bastard. Don’t you ever touch her again!” 

As her knee connected with his groin Mr. Shue, Kurt and Mike came back in and rushed to them. “What is going on here Quinn? You don’t just kick someone like that.”

Sam and Puck pulled Finn back up to his feet. Puck was pissed. “He grabbed Rachel and hurt her Mr. Shue. He’s lucky he’s breathing right now. You don’t hurt girls.”

Shocked he looked to Rachel who was now had Santana and Quinn wrapped around her as well. “Rachel, are you ok? What happened?”

Rachel looked up from Santana’s chest. “He thought the song I wrote was for him. When I told him it wasn’t and that I wrote it for someone else he got mad. He grabbed and twisted my arm.”

Finn roared, “I barely touched you and you’re over reacting.”

Mr. Shue walked up to Rachel. “Can I see your arm Rachel?” 

Brittany and Quinn moved back a little so she could turn to him. When she pulled up her sleeve of the half sleeved shirt she was wearing they could already see the hand print forming and everyone gasped. 

Mr. Shue shook his head. “This is unacceptable Finn. We will be talking to Mr. Figgins Monday and I am calling your parents to pick you up at the school when we get back so I can talk to them.”

Finn was red faced and still pissed. As he opened his mouth to speak Coach Sylvester came in the room. “What is all the yelling William? Can you not control your animals?”

Looking over to her he just shook his head and told her what happened. “Can you drive him back to Lima so Rachel doesn’t have to ride on the bus with him?”

Sue looked at Finn with distain. “Absolutely not. I will not have filth in my car. He won’t make it home. I will take Baby Streisand, jugs, tubbers, and tweedle dee with me.”

She looked at Rachel. “How bad is it Streisand?” Rachel lifted her sleeve again and Sue threw daggers with her eyes at Finn then looks back to Rachel. “Grab your things girls and let’s get out of here.”

Will nodded. “Thank you Sue.” He looked to the others. “Boys just hold him there. The rest of you, help get everything loaded up so we can go home.”

The girls grab their things from the room and off the bus and load up in Coach’s car. Rachel in the back between Santana and Quinn, Brittany up front. Rachel burrowed into Quinn’s neck and cries silently as Santana rubs her back. “I’m sorry Quinn.”

Quinn lifts Rachel’s face in shock. “What do you possibly have to be sorry for Rachel?”

“For not warning you. He could have hurt you too and it would have been my fault.”

Quinn shakes her head. “No Rach, you were right. I wouldn’t have believed it before yesterday when he grabbed me. I never would have thought he could do something like this. Would you have told me if I were to say I was going to forgive him and stay with him after yesterday happened?”

Rachel gasped. “Of course, I was going to talk to you tomorrow after all the other girls left before you talked to him. After her grabbed you I couldn’t not tell you it only gets worse after the first time.”

Quinn pulled her back in to hug her. “How many times did he do it Rach and why did you not just break up with him?”

Rachel shrugged. “Five times while we were dating the second time. I honestly didn’t think I could do better than him. He was sweet most of the time but I let him believe that I had slept with Jesse. That was the first time he got mad and grabbed me. I told him the truth. That I hadn’t actually done it and he calmed down. After that he never truly trusted me or totally believe that I didn’t do it.”

She took a breath and snuggled closer. “After I found out about Santana I was so angry. He lied to me about it but got so mad at me for thinking I slept with Jesse. He made me believe it was my fault that he was doing it. He was a hypocrite about the whole thing. That’s why I was so upset. It actually had nothing to do with Santana. After that I decided to make out with Puck just to piss him off. I knew he would break up with me after that. I made sure he found out about it in the middle of the hallway so he would hurt me.”

“You are worth so much more than him Rachel. You are worth everything and don’t ever settle for less.” Quinn and Santana shared an angry look over her head but were unable to say anything more as Coach Sue got in the car and followed the bus.

“We are following them in to make sure he doesn’t try anything on the bus. You are to stay in the car until his parents escort him off of school grounds and he will not be allowed back on them until their meeting with Figgins on Monday. I’m sure expulsion or suspension will follow that as I will be sitting in on that meeting.” She said no more and the rest of the drive was quiet. 

Rachel fell asleep in Quinn’s arms as mental exhaustion set in along with Santana and Quinn’s calming hands running through her hair and on her back soothed her ten minutes into the drive. They woke her as they got to the school and saw Burt storming onto the bus and pulling Finn out by his ear. He shoved him into the back seat of his truck and handed some keys to Carol.

They both walked over to Sue’s car and she climbed out to talk to them. Sue came back a few minutes later and opened the back door. “Streisand they want to talk to you if that’s ok?”

Rachel nods and follows Quinn out of the car not letting go of her arm once they are out. Carol walks up and strokes her cheek. “I am so sorry for all of this Rachel. I don’t know what is going on with him but we will be fixing this.”

“It’s not your fault Mrs. Hummel. He is responsible for his own actions.”

Burt steps forward. “Regardless, we will make sure it doesn’t happen again. If it’s ok with you we would like to see your arms.”

Rachel looks to Quinn then looks down for a moment. “Quinn can you help it hurts to move my arm too much.”

Quinn nods and helps pull up her sleeves. Carol gasps throwing her hand over her mouth as tears gather in her eyes. Burt just stands there, rage pouring off of his body in waves. “It won’t happen again Rachel.”

Carol strokes her cheek again. “I am so sorry honey. I want you to call me if you need anything and have your dads call if they want to talk about what we are doing to him for doing this to you.”

Rachel hugs her then moves back to Quinn. “Thank you.”

Quinn looks at Carol. “Can you do me a favor Mrs. Hummel?”

“Of course Quinn.”

“Make sure he understands that we are no longer dating and that I want nothing to do with him. Erase my number from his phone please, all of our numbers actually. After what he did to Rachel and shoving Santana the other day. She could have really been hurt if Rachel hadn’t caught her before she hit the ground and Sam kept him from them so they could get a way. Add to that the way he grabbed me yesterday and I really, really don’t want to be around him anymore.”

Carol gasps and Burt’s fist clench tighter. “He grabbed you too, and shoved Santana?”

Quinn nods, “Yes sir, not as hard as he did Rachel. He didn’t leave any marks on me but it scared me and I was going to break up with him tomorrow but after today I don’t want to deal with him at all.”

Carol grabs her hand. “I understand honey. I will make sure that he know to stay away from you.” She looks at all the girls huddled around Rachel. “I will make sure he stays away from all four of you.”

With a sigh Quinn squeezes her hand. “Thank you ma’am.”

Carol nods then she and Burt walk away. The girls watch as Burt pulls out of the parking lot with Finn and Carol follows behind with Kurt in Finn’s truck. They thank Coach Sue and head to Santana’s car. Once inside Santana takes out her buzzing phone.

She reads the text and looks back at Rachel. “Hey, that was Tina. The girls want to know if we’re still getting together tonight or if you want to just have some quiet time and chill.”

Rachel shakes her head. “No, I want to have our sleepover. I won’t let him ruin our night of celebrating our win. He’s put enough of a damper on our day as it is. Just tell them I don’t want to discuss it please. I just want to have fun tonight.”

“That’s fine but I’m getting the blow up mattress out for you. You are not sleeping on the floor. Quinn can sleep with you on it so you don’t have to sleep alone but your arm is hurt and sleeping on the floor will make it worse. No me gusta.”

Quinn nods in agreement and Rachel smiles. “Ok Santana, I won’t argue. I wouldn’t have thought of that until we actually laid down, thank you.”

With a smile and a nod Santana sends off a text to let the girls know what time to come over and that the topic is off limits for the night. Handing her phone to Brittany, she fires up her car and drives off toward home.

A/N: Ok I promise the sleep over is next. I just had to deal with the Finn crap first. It wouldn’t leave my head until I got it down. Fluffy fun times coming up.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters. 

Once they arrived back at Santana’s house they unloaded the car and headed in not letting Rachel carry anything, much to her dismay. “I’m not an invalid guys. I can carry my own bag.”

Quinn just shook her head. “Rachel you can barely lift your arm.”

“I have another.”

Santana huffed. “Yea, and that one just stopped hurting yesterday. Suck it up. We’re not letting you hurt yourself more.”

Rachel tried to cross her arms in indignation but cried out in pain. Quinn rubbed her forearms in sympathy as she dropped them back down. “See, just let us help, I can’t stand to see you in pain.”

Brittany rubbed her back. “Rachie it hurts my heart please.”

Rachel softened at their concern. “Ok, I’m sorry.”

Santana kissed her temple. “Don’t apologize just go down to the basement and I will bring you an ice pack while we set things up.”

With a nod she made her way down to the TV room. They watched her go then Santana turned to Quinn. “I swear to god I’m going to kill that hijo de puta.”

“Get in line San. I can’t believe he hurt her like that before and you didn’t tell me.” Quinn was not happy with her friend.

“I promise we would have told you after I saw him grab you Q. I would never let him hurt you.”

Quinn shook her head in anger. “I don’t give a damn about me, I can take care of myself! He was hurting Rachel!”

Santana took a step back. “Oh, woo there Q. What the hell? Why would I ever think that you would care about that? Until this week you two were barely friends.”

Quinn took a calming breath. “Fine, but from now on I want to know this stuff San.”

Santana watched her closely for a moment. “Ok Q, I’ll tell you if she’s in trouble, Ok?”

Quinn nodded and took off toward the kitchen. “I’m gonna grab an ice pack for her arm then start moving the furniture around down there.” 

Santana watched her leave then come back and head down stairs before turning to Brittany. “Um, what the hell was that?”

Brittany kissed her lightly. “She’s a pressed lemon for Rachel, San.”

“I kinda figured that out myself but I didn’t think she was that far in.”

Brittany smiled sadly. “Q’s just scared. They’ll be hot together when they finally tell each other though.”

Wrapping her arms around Brittany, Santana smirked. “True that. Well, we’ll just have to give them a little push here and there I think.” She kissed her deeply before stepping back and pulling her toward the stairs. “Come on, before blondie kills herself trying to move the couch alone.”

An hour later the TV room is set up for the night and the girls are lounging on the couch talking waiting for the others to arrive. They are all laughing at something that Rachel has just said but it’s Santana who recovers first. 

“So you’re telling us that you are the one that got the jocks to terrorize Jew-fro after her told Sue about her pregnancy and that article he wrote?”

Rachel shrugs. “He broke our deal and I don’t take kindly to being used then lied to. All I had to do is tell Noah what he did and he ordered the team to torment him.”

Quinn just looked confused. “What deal did you have with him? Why would you even make a deal with him?” 

She looked down and mumbled under her breath. Santana nudged her. “You want to repeat that mumbles?”

Rachel shook her head. “Um, not really.”

Brittany playfully knocked their feet together. “Come on Rachie, you can tell them about the panties, they won’t laugh or anything.”

Rachel swung her head to look at Brittany horrified. “How do you know about that? I never told anyone.”

“I heard him asking you for them. I didn’t tell anyone else, I was just glad you did it.”

“Ok, what the hell?” Santana looked between them.

Rachel sighed. “Jacob came up to me and told me he knew about the pregnancy. He told me he wouldn’t run the story if I gave him a pair of my panties. I gave him a pair, well I bought a pair at goodwill that looked like something I would wear and gave him those, but then he told Sue and ran the story anyway. That’s why I had Noah go after him.”

“Why would you do that Rachel?” They were shocked and Quinn just didn’t understand.

“You were still dealing with so much and you needed time. I knew it would eventually come out but I had to buy you some time to figure out what you were going to do before the school found out. Your parents didn’t even know yet. I couldn’t let it happen if I could stop it.”

“But why would you do that for me? You hated me and wanted Finn for yourself.”

Rachel shook her head. “I have never hated you Quinn and I really didn’t want Finn for anything but Glee club. I’m sorry I interfered in your relationship with him. It was stupid of me.”

Quinn went to ask more but the doorbell sounded and Santana got up. “I’m going to get that. Let’s drop this for now since the gossip girls are here.”

They all nodded and just sat quietly until Santana returned with the girls. They all shared hugs and started setting up their sleeping bags.

Mercedes handed a bag to Santana. “I brought a blow up bed for you Rachel. I figured it would be more comfortable.”

Tina held up a bag chuckling. “I did too.”

Lauren laughed and threw her own in the pile of the others. “Great minds I guess.”

They all laughed and Santana pointed to the bed in the corner. “Looks like we all thought of the same thing, but now we have enough for all of us to sleep on.”

Lauren smirked. “I say we blow them all up and stack them to test the princess and the pea theory with the diva.”

This caused them all to laugh uproariously and Rachel to huff in indignation that was ruined by the small smirk she held. “I will have you know that my fathers tested that theory many years ago and it failed. Just don’t put a bad musical DVD under my bed and I will sleep like a baby.”

They all lost it at that and Santana fell over from laughing so hard. “Oh my god that’s priceless.” Rachel just smirked and joined in the laughter.

They decided to order pizza and set up the karaoke machine to play the karaoke challenge game Rachel had suggested. They all chose silly or crazy songs and put them in a hat.  
Rachel held up two hats. “Ok, we will choose a name out of one hat and a song out of the other.” She paused as she drew out a name. “Mercedes!” She holds the other hat up and lets her pick a song.

Mercedes starts laughing. “Macho man, really guys?”

They all lost it as Santana set up the song. Mercedes started her song and Tina and Lauren jumped up and sang back up for her.

Next up was Lauren who sang It’s Raining Men. Tina sang Boom, Boom ain’t it great to be crazy. Santana chose YMCA and Rachel, Quinn and Brittany backed her as they all danced along. Quinn got stuck singing Physical by Olivia Newton-John. Brittany picked Kung Fu Fighting and did an awesome dance with it.

It came time for Rachel to pick the final song out of the hat and Brittany clapped happily. “Oh goody, Rachie gets to sing my song.”

Rachel smiled and pulled it out of the hat and smiled softly. “Crazy by Patsy Cline.”

Santana nudged Brittany with her shoulder. “Hey I thought we were picking silly songs?”

Britt just shrugged. “Rachie said silly or crazy songs and that song is called Crazy so it counts. I love that song.”

Santana kissed her cheek and Rachel just smiled. “I do too Brittany, load it up San.”

Santana nodded, got the track ready and started it when Rachel gave her the sign.

They all sat back and watched as Rachel belted out a heartbreaking rendition of the song. Santana watched Quinn out of the corner of her eye and saw her discreetly wipe a tear before it fell. Quinn just listened. She loved to just hear her sing, god she loved her voice, but this song just hit too close to home.

Once it was finished they all clapped and Brittany stood and hugged her gently. “Rachie wins, now it’s time for the next game.”

They all just laughed at her enthusiasm and Rachel got up. “I’ll go get the stuff for Pictionary, we left it upstairs.”

Brittany jumped up and followed. “I’ll go too and bring down some more snacks and the other games.”

After the door closed Mercedes turned to Santana and Quinn excitedly. “Ok girls, what is the prank and how can we help?”

They shared a look and Santana shook her head confused. “Um, what prank? We aren’t pulling pranks tonight. What are we 12 and were going to call people and ask them if their refrigerator is running?”

Lauren shook her head. “No, the one you are planning for Rachel.”

Quinn sat up straight. “We are not pulling a prank on Rachel tonight and neither is anyone else.”

Mercedes scoffed. “Oh come on. We know that that has to be the plan all along. Why else would you throw a slumber party at your house and invite Rachel?”

Santana stood pissed. “Are you high? Where the hell have you been? Rachel is our friend. I threw this party because Rachel has never been to a slumber party and I wanted to give her that. You were only invited as fillers.”

Quinn pulled her back down and frowned at the others. “There will be no pranks pulled tonight. So help me god if one of you do something to hurt her more I will make your lives hell.”

Tina sighed in relief. “Good, I didn’t want to pull pranks. I like Rachel and that’s just mean.”

Santana nudged her with a small smile. “Agreed, no pranks…”

She was about to say more when the girls returned with games and snacks. Santana stood and helped them with the things in their arms and Quinn pulled Rachel down close to her and eyed Mercedes.

Rachel bumped shoulders with her gently and whispered to her. “Hey, what’s wrong? You’re all tense and throwing daggers at ‘Cedes.”

Quinn took a breath and made herself relax. “Nothing Rach, I’m fine.” She rubbed her arm and pulled the Pictionary Man box to her. “Ok, how do you play this thing?”

Rachel explains the games and they broke into two teams to play. Rachel, San, Britt and Quinn were on a team and won Pictionary and charades. After the games they decided to settle for the night and watch movies. Santana sat with Brittany in her lap and Quinn sat in the middle with Rachel to the side so they didn’t hit her arm on accident. Rachel settled with her head on Quinn’s shoulder, Quinn’s head resting on hers. The other girls took the other couch.

Two movies later they all decide to blow up all the mattresses and settle to sleep. San and Britt pulled their bed to the side and lay down snuggled together. Mercedes and Tina shared a bed and Lauren took the twin size one alone. 

Rachel and Quinn moved to lie down together and Quinn paused. “Are you sure this is a good idea Rach? I can sleep on the couch.”

Rachel shook her head. “No, don’t be silly, it’s fine. You’re not going to hurt me Quinn. Please lay down.”

Quinn sighed and nodded lying down with Rachel. Once they were all settled she moved in behind her and whispered into her ear. “Good night Rach.”

Rachel shivered at the breath on her ear. “Good night Quinn.”

They settled and fell asleep quickly enjoying the closeness of the other.

A/N: Ok, there’s the sleep over. Next up, the morning after and Monday dealing with Finn.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters. 

Rachel awoke the in the same position as the morning before with Quinn molded to her back, arm around her waist. As much as she loved it, she took a cautious look around. Even if she was leaning toward liking her she was sure that Quinn was definitely not ready for the others to see her wrapped around her. She didn’t want to have Quinn wake up upset at the others seeing them in this position.

With a sigh of relieve as she noticed all the other still asleep except for Brittany and Santana who were coming back through the door. She maneuvered until she was sitting and looked up as Santana knelt beside her. “Hey, we were going to see if you felt up to running this morning. We missed our run yesterday and Britt gets super tight muscles if she doesn’t get a workout at least every other day.”

With a smile she leaned over and nudged Quinn. “Quinn we’re going running, are you coming too?”

Quinn groaned and scooted closer wrapping her arm around Rachel’s middle. “Sleeping… run later.”

Rachel chuckled and looked back to Santana. “Let me try again and I will meet you upstairs. I need to change.” Looking around she turned back to Santana. “What about the others?”

Santana shrugged. “I’ll leave a note. We will probably be back before they even get up.”

With a nod Santana and Brittany went upstairs and Rachel turned back to Quinn. “Quinn, it’s time to go for a run. I need to get up.”

Quinn opened one eye. “Where are we running to?”

Rachel giggled. “I don’t know. Santana just said we were going running if you want to come too.”

With a groan she rolled over. “I swear I just want one day of rest. Ok, I’m up.”

Rachel rubbed her back as she came to stand beside her. “You don’t have to come. You can stay and sleep.”

Quinn shook her head. “No, when we run on the weekend we run the neighborhoods and it’s safer the more of us there are. I really don’t mind. We can just nap later.”

Still half asleep she took Rachel’s hand and they went upstairs to join their friends. After changing they met Santana and Brittany at the front door. “Geez you two, what the hell took so long? Britt and I have showered changed and started breakfast to finish when we get back.”

Quinn just gave a mini glare and Rachel chuckled at her. “If you wanted us ready sooner San you should have woke us up sooner.” She sauntered out the door looking over her should. “Well let’s go.”

They all laughed and followed her out. After stretching in the yard they headed down the road. Rachel had strapped on her IPod since they agreed to rotate who picked the music to run by. Santana chose Thursday and today it was her turn.

They ran for about 15 minutes before the strap started bothering her. “Hey, can one of you were my IPod. The band is cutting in to my arm and is really starting to hurt.”

They all came to a stop and Quinn moved to her. “Why didn’t you give it to one of us before we started Rach? Are you ok?”

Rachel rubbed her arm as Quinn put the band on herself. “I’m fine I honestly didn’t think it would hurt like that. It’s so light but the band was digging in and that was on the good arm.”

Once they were settled they started running again. “Just be careful. We don’t want you to hurt anymore Rachie.” Brittany ran by her right side with Santana next to her, Quinn on left side of Rachel, all in a line.

It was very early on Sunday and there was no traffic so they spread out on the road. The three ex-Cheerios had been running together for years and had three routes down that would last an hour and bring them back to whose ever house they started from.

As they turned down a new street Brittany perked up. “Hey, we need to find a new running route.”

Santana looked over confused. “Why baby, we got these down?”

Britt just smiled, “we need one from Rachie’s house now too for when we sleep over at her house on the weekend.”

Rachel smiled. “I have a route that takes an hour if we want to try that one next time you sleep over.”

Santana shrugged. “Yea, that will save us time in figuring out a new one. We can just follow you until we memorize it.”

Quinn nodded her agreement. “Sounds good to me.”

They continued on and made it back to the house and were stretching in the yard when the other girls stumbled out of the house. 

Mercedes just eyed them incredulously. “You guys do realize that is it the weekend and like super freakin early in the morning.”

Rachel looked at her IPod. “It’s almost 8:30.”

Tina yawned. “Yea and your note said you’d be gone a little over an hour or so which means you left at 7:00 or so. What time did you get up?”

Santana shrugged and pushed into Brittany’s back to help her stretch. “Britt and I got up around 5:30. We showered woke up Rach and Q than started breakfast to finish when we got back.”

Quinn looked up from her stretch as Rachel released her hold. “We figured we’d be back and showered again before you got up.”

Lauren just shook her head. “I would have still be sleeping if those two hadn’t woke up and freaked when they couldn’t find you. I found the note and then we heard you out here talking.”

Rachel lay down and lifted her leg as Quinn moved in to help her stretch. “Sorry to have alarmed you. We just needed to get our run in.”

Santana got up and pulled Britt up as Quinn helped Rachel to her feet. “Give me 10 to shower and I will start breakfast. You guys can watch TV or whatever if you want.” She turned to Rachel and Quinn. “You two can take turns in the hall bathroom to shower.”

They all headed in and got cleaned up. Quinn was the last to shower and once she came down to the kitchen she found everyone there. Rachel and Britt were setting the table.

She came up behind Rachel who was stretching to get some glasses down. “Hey, stop that before you hurt your arms. Let someone else get that.” She reached over her and pulled the glasses down herself.

Rachel froze when Quinn came up behind her and leaned into her as she pulled down the glasses. “I-I was just trying to help.”

Santana chuckled as she noticed her reaction to Quinn but threw her hands up as Quinn glared at her. “Hey, don’t look at me that way. I told her not to.”

Rachel huffed and sat down at the table. “You have to stop treating me like a child.”

Quinn knelt in front of her. “We talked about this yesterday Rach. Please stop.”

Rachel deflated. “Sorry, I’m just not used to it I guess.”

Brittany bounced over and set a plate of pancakes on the table then kissed her head. “Better get used to it.”

Santana came over and set a plate of bacon on the table, a bowl of fruit and leaned in to whisper to Rachel. “The pancakes are vegan Rach.”

“Thank you Santana.”

They continued talking as they readied the table. Lauren and Mercedes just watched it all in confusion. They had never seen the unholy trinity or Rachel outside of school or a school related function and they were not quite sure what they are seeing right now. Mercedes and Lauren were still not convinced that this wasn’t all some big prank on Rachel.

Tina was sure that they were all just becoming better friends. She had seen the way Santana helped Rachel with her song. Somehow Santana kept her grounded. Rachel seemed to bring out something in Santana as well that she had only ever seen glimpses of around Brittany.

They all sat and ate breakfast then Mercedes, Lauren and Tina headed home. Santana collapsed onto the couch next to Brittany and looked to the others. “What’s the plan for the day? When does everyone need to be home?”

Brittany leaned into her and kissed her cheek. “Mom said to be home by 6:00 for dinner.”

Quinn nodded. “Mine too; I can drop you off on my way if you want Britt.” 

Brittany just nodded happily and they looked to Rachel. “I need to go home at some point to prepare for the week but I have no set time.”

“Well then I say we just veg out today and watch movies or TV. I need to throw in a load of laundry but I have nothing else today. I can take you home whenever Tiny.”

Quinn nudged Rachel beside her. “I can take you when Brittany and I leave if you want. It’s on the way.” 

Rachel smile. “Thank you Quinn that would be nice.”

They moved back down stairs to straighten up from the sleepover then lounged and napped on and off the rest of the day. When it came time to leave Santana decided to take Brittany home herself so she could spend more time with her and Quinn and Rachel headed toward Rachel’s house.

When they pulled into the drive Quinn parked and helped Rachel get her bags into the house. “Thank you for bringing me home Quinn. It was very thoughtful of you.”

Quinn just shrugged. “It was no problem Rach. I’ll be by in the morning to pick you up for our run.”

Rachel smiled. “I’ll be ready.” As Quinn moved to leave she gently grabbed her hand to stop her. “Quinn?”

She turned back at looked into Rachel’s eyes. “Yea?” 

Rachel bit her lip then shook her head. “Never mind, it’s nothing.”

Quinn looked at her skeptically. “Are you sure? It doesn’t look like nothing.”

Rachel just smiled and squeezed her hand before dropping it. “I’m sure. I’ll see you in the morning."

“Ok, if you’re sure. I’ll see you then.” Pausing a moment Quinn debating with herself before leaning in, kissing her cheek then turned and hurried to her car.

Rachel just stood on her porch and watched as she drove away with a small smile on her face.

Quinn drove home in a daze deep in thought. What the hell was she thinking kissing her like that? Granted it was a kiss on the cheek but still. She was 100% sure she was losing her mind. She had just kissed Rachel and she wanted nothing more than to turn around, go back and kiss her properly.

Shaking out of it she pulled into her drive and headed in. She found her mom in the kitchen. “Hey mom, I’m home.”

Judy looked up and smiled. “Hi sweetie, dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Why don’t you set the table?” 

Quinn nodded and moved to do as she was asked. Once they sat down and started eating Judy looked to her. “By the way I wanted to congratulate you again for your win yesterday. You guys were great and your friend Rachel was phenomenal.”

Quinn beamed. “Thanks mom, it was so awesome. Rachel was amazing, she wrote that song. The rest of the group wrote the other song. We had so much fun.”

Judy just smiled. “It looked like it. Now, do you want to tell me what happened after the competition? Your text just said there was a problem in the group and you all had to leave and you couldn’t come out to the audience to see me before heading back. It really worried me but you said everything was ok.”

Quinn sighed. “There was an altercation in the green room. You may be called into a meeting tomorrow.”

“What for, what did you do Quinn?”

Quinn told her exactly what had happened and what Finn did to Rachel. She told her about her own run in with him and what he had been doing all week with Rachel and Santana.   
By the time she was done explaining Judy was fuming. “Thank little bastard put his hands on you and you didn’t report him?”

Quinn just shook her head. “He didn’t hurt me. It just scared me and I was going to break up with him today because of it. But after what he did to Rachel I talked to Carol, she and Burt are going to remove my number from his phone and tell him to stay away from me and my friends.”

Judy nodded. “They better keep that boy away from you and Rachel. Leroy will rip his head off when he finds out. I’m sure I’ll see him tomorrow at the school. I want you to text me the second you find out what time the meeting is. I want to be there whether they call me or not.”

“Ok mom, I’ll text as soon as I know.” 

“I’ll never understand what you or Rachel ever saw in that boy.”

Quinn scoffed and chuckled slightly. “Me either.”

After a moment Judy looked back to her. “You seem to becoming pretty good friends with Rachel.”

Quinn stopped eating and just stared at her for a moment. “Yes we are. Is that a problem?”

Judy just shook her head. “Not at all, she seems like a nice girl. It was just an observation. I’m not your father Quinn. I’m not going to get angry because your friend has gay parents. I have never said anything about you being friends with Santana and Brittany.”

Quinn was confused by that comment. “Um, their parents aren’t gay.”

Judy chuckled. “No honey, but they are. They are dating each other aren’t they?”

“How did you know that?”

“I’m not blind dear. Those two have always been very close and I noticed a change in them a year or so ago. Right after I kicked out your donor.”

Quinn just sat stunned for a moment, “and you’re just ok with that?”

Judy smiled and nodded slightly. “Yes, you do remember me telling you the other day that one of her fathers was my best friend growing up right?”

“How long did you know that he was gay?”

Judy thought for a moment then leaned forward her fist under her chin. “Let me see, we met when we were in 7th grade and hit it off instantly when I shoved a boy who called him a fag. So from the moment I met him. Have you gotten to meet him yet?” Quinn shook her head. “Well, it’s kind of like that boy Kurt. You just know by looking at him. He’s was never as flamboyant as Kurt but it was just the way her carried himself. He was very athletic but had an air about him. That and he never pretended to be something he wasn’t.”

Quinn was still in shock. “How were you just ok with it? I mean dad used to talk about the Berry’s all the time about how they were sinners and going to hell. You never even mentioned knowing them let alone being ex-best friends with one of them. I couldn’t even be friends with Rachel until I got kicked out of the house.”

Judy sighed and sat back in her seat. “I am not proud of how I acted for most of my relationship with your father. One of my biggest regrets is losing my relationship with Leroy. Your father didn’t like him so I wasn’t allowed to talk to him. We had a falling out right after the wedding when he didn’t get an invitation and thought that I didn’t send it to him on purpose. It was actually my mother’s doing. Russel told her to lose it and she listened. My father wanted me to marry him. It was prearranged that we be together. I had to do what was expected of me. I hated my father for that and I hated your father for making me lose the best friend I ever had. The only thing good that came out my marriage were you and your sister.”

Quinn just stared for a moment. “Is that why Fran dropped out of college and married Charles after her freshman year, because dad wanted her to? She just never seemed all that happy with him.”

Judy looked down sadly. “Yes, Russel hand-picked that boy for her and unfortunately I wasn’t stronger sooner to help her. I don’t think she’s totally miserable. He seems good to her. I just hope she can come to me for help if it gets bad. Just promise me that no matter what you will only marry someone you’re in love with. I can’t stand the thought of you in a loveless marriage.”

Quinn just looked at her for a moment then looked down. “I’ll try.” She whispered and looked away.

Judy turned her head to look at her. “Is there something you wanted to talk to me about honey? I just want you to be happy. I know I have never been mother of the year but I’m trying to be better. I’m finally getting back to the person I was before I met your father. Just don’t shut me out baby. You can tell me anything.”

As a tear left her eye Quinn smiled slightly. “I don’t know, maybe later. I just really need to think about this for a while before I talk about it.”

Judy nodded and wiped her cheeks. “Ok, just… I don’t want you to be afraid to talk to me. I will love you no matter what. My absolute biggest regret was failing as your mother and letting that bastard make you leave. I know you are still upset with me about that and I deserve it, but I want to be better for you. No matter what happens I will never let you be without a home again. Nothing you do could ever cause me to ask you to leave.”

She took a deep breath then chuckled. “Hell you could come home with pink hair, a leather jacket, and nose ring on the back of a motorcycle bringing home a girl named Harley and I would never ask you to leave. I may lock up the valuables when your friends are here but I wouldn’t love you any less.”

Quinn laughed at that. “Really mom, a biker chick named Harley?”

Judy just giggled. “Hey, you never know what will happen.”

They both laughed then talked for a bit longer finishing dinner. After helping with the dishes Quinn headed upstairs to prepare for the week. Once she settled into bed for the night she pulled out her phone to set an alarm and sent out a text.

Quinn-Rachel: Do you know if they called your dads about Finn? What did they say about what happened?

Rachel-Quinn: I tried to contact them but I think they are out of reach for the moment. I’m sure Principal Figgins will attempt to call them tomorrow.

Quinn-Rachel: My mom is not happy about what happened. She will be there for the meeting.

Rachel-Quinn: Good, we need all the parental back up we can get so that he doesn’t get off too easy and you don’t get in trouble for what you did to him. 

Quinn-Rachel: True that, but I don’t care if I get in trouble. He was not getting away with hurting you. 

Rachel-Quinn: I still don’t want to see you get in trouble. Not for me.

Quinn-Rachel: Too bad, not your choice, LOL. Well, I’ll see you in the morning. Good night Rach. 

Rachel-Quinn: Good night Quinn. I look forward to our run tomorrow. I will see you then.

Quinn smiled and sat her phone down on the nightstand and snuggled in for the night. As she fell asleep she thought about all her mother had said. She really wanted to believe her that whoever she brought home would be ok. She was just having a hard time coming to terms with this new side of her mother. She decided to let it be for now and just try and get some sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day and she hoped that everything went well with their Finn problem.

A/N: School and Dealing with Finn Next.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

Rachel sent her the last text to Quinn with a smile and put her phone back on the nightstand. She lay there for a while tossing and turning unable to sleep. She could still smell Quinn on the sheets and pillow. A hint of Santana remained as well. It was a comfort and a curse. It made her miss them all the more, especially Quinn. She hadn't slept alone in a week and she does not like it right now. If it weren't for the scent of Quinn and Santana surrounding her she would be wondering if she dreamt it all. She was still having a hard time believing it even as the evidence of them lingered.

It was hard to believe that in a weeks' time she had not one, but three friends that she had wanted for years. Not just school acquaintances but friends that spent time with her and included her in their lives. She only hoped it continued and they didn't find her lacking in some way later. She shook the thought out of her head. She would just enjoy what she had while she had it and hope to keep it. If not she would have a bunch of wonderful memories to look back on later.

She was also worried about the meeting with Figgins about Finn in the morning. She didn't want to ruin the boys school career by getting him expelled but she was starting to really fear being in his presence. He was not the same sweet boy she dated sophomore year. He was angry all the time and it didn't take much to set him off. She feared for herself but also for Quinn now.

Sleep was hard found but she finally fell asleep around midnight only to wake up an hour or so later reaching out for a body that wasn't there. By the time her 5:00 alarm went off she had only gotten a total of about 3 ½ hours' sleep and not consecutively. She got up, showered, dressed and headed out as she saw Quinn pull up.

Quinn arrived right on time and watched as Rachel locked up and came down the walk to the car. As Rachel got in she noticed the bags under her eyes and that she seemed to be dragging along. "You ok Rach?"

Rachel just shrugged. "I'm just tired. I didn't sleep well last night."

Quinn rubbed her forearm. "Bad night?"

Rachel smiled slightly, "I just couldn't turn my head off and I was a little lonely. I've had either you or Santana to sleep with for the past week and it was just a rough night."

Quinn pulled her in for a gentle hug. "I'm sorry you didn't sleep well. Are you sure you're up for a run this morning. We could just sit and watch San and Britt."

Rachel pulled back and put on her seat belt. "No, I'm ok. A run will probably help me wake up a bit. I'll be fine, I promise."

Quinn didn't look convinced but let it go and pulled back on to the road and headed to the school. "Ok, whatever you want to do. Do you want to talk about what was running around your head last night?"

Rachel looked out the window and sighed. "Oh just everything I guess. I was thinking about the meeting with Figgins today and having to see and deal with Finn. I was thinking about San and Britt, and you. Just everything."

Quinn pulled into the school and parked. "Finn will not get anywhere close enough to you to even think of hurting you again. I won't let it happen."

Rachel looked at her and smiled. "I know I just worry that they will not punish him like he should be. I don't even have my dads home right now to stand up for me if they don't. I'm worried about when he comes back to school if they suspend him and he hurts you or Santana because he's mad about getting in trouble. I just couldn't turn off all the scenarios that could go wrong."

Quinn pulled her in for another hug and just held her. "My mom with be there and I guaranty that she will stick up for you and I don't see Carol and Burt letting him get away with too much either. I will be there and San with be there too. We won't let anything happen to any of us. Try not to let it drive you crazy."

Rachel buried her face in Quinn's neck and tried not to cry. "I'll try. I'm sorry; I'm not usually this emotional. I hate being this week. You guys deserve better than for me to be the weepy friend you always have to coddle."

She tried to sit up but Quinn held firm and moved just her head so she could look her in the eye. "Hey, stop it. I recall more than one time this week that I was the weepy friend that you were coddling. So I see it as a give take friendship. You're not weak Rach. You are one of the strongest people I know. You deserve to be taken care of too sometimes."

Rachel couldn't hold the tears anymore and fell into her on a small sob. "I'm scared."

Quinn kissed her head lightly. "It's ok to be scared but just know that you have me, San and Britt. We will be here for you just like you're here for us."

Rachel nodded into her shoulder not able to speak just yet. Quinn held her for a few more moments then kissed her head one more time. "Ok sweetie, we need to get out of the car before Santana has a heart attack. She's pacing waiting for us to come out so she can check on you."

Rachel sat up with a chuckle. "She's a worry wart."

Quinn chuckled too. "She is. She doesn't know how to love small that's for sure. Once you're in her circle she keeps you close and does her best to keep you safe."

Rachel squeezed her one last time. "Thank you Quinn."

Quinn just smiled as they got out and Santana immediately had Rachel in her arms. "What's wrong Tiny, who do I need to kill?"

Rachel chuckled and hugged her close before moving back. "No one San, I'm ok. I just had a bad night and was telling Quinn about it. I'm just worried about dealing with Finn today."

Santana pulled her back in. "Don't worry about that ass hat. Coach is not happy about what happened and she will not let Figgins go to easy on him. If nothing else she's good about this kind of stuff. She actually cares about the students she just let's winning gets her crazy sometimes. Besides, we won't let him anywhere near you Tiny so no worries. Auntie Snix will beat a bitch down."

They all laughed and Rachel squeezed her once more before backing up. "Thank you Santana," she kissed her cheek and accepted a hug from Brittany then another from Quinn. "Ok now, let's get to our run in before we run out of time."

They all agreed and headed for the field. Once they got a good run in they were stretching again on the field after a cool down when Coach came walking up to them. "What are you sloppy babies doing on my field?"

Quinn just looked up from the stretch she was in. She would have stood but Rachel didn't release her and just mumbled something about proper stretching to avoid injury so she just answered. "We were getting our morning run in before school Coach." Rachel finally released her, helped her to her feet and they move to stand by Santana and Brittany.

"Too bad you didn't have this dedication when you were on the squad."

Santana scoffed. "We did our run every day while we were on the squad whether it on the field or our treadmills. That's on top of what we did with the actual squad so whatever."

Coach just shook her head and looked out toward the school. "Doesn't matter, I just wanted to tell you that I spoke with Figgins this weekend and we will be having a meeting with the overgrown toddler, his family and you three. The rest of the glee club and your parent will be there as well. He's on the phone with all the needed parties now and the meeting will happen after homeroom. Meet me in front of Figgins office and do not go in without me."

With that she turned and walked away as they watched her leave. Quinn moved to her bag and removed her phone sending a text to her mom about the meeting then looking back to the girls. "San, when do your parents get home?"

Santana grabbed her and Brittany's bags. "Tonight, if I don't like what happens today I wall talk to them then and see what they can do."

Quinn nodded as she grabbed her and Rachel's bags and they all headed in to shower and get ready for the day. "Good, mom with will be here in a bit. She just text and said she would come on in and find Coach and meet us at Figgins office. She just got off the phone with him."

Rachel sighed. "It's going to look bad when my dad's aren't here. I couldn't even get a hold of them. They haven't returned my phone calls or texts all weekend."

Brittany wrapped an arm around her. "Maybe they don't have cell service where they are right now."

Rachel just shrugged. "Maybe."

Santana hugged her from the other side. "No worries Tiny, we'll deal with it as it comes."

Quinn moved in front of her and lifted her head. "Besides, mom will kick ass if needed. She'll have our backs."

Rachel nodded accepting the group hug then they all move away to grab a shower. Once they were all showered changed and had grabbed their books from their lockers they headed to homeroom and sat in their normal seats just talking quietly.

Puck, Mike and Sam entered the room and went right to them. "Are you ok my Jewish American Princess?" Puck asked eyeing her arm.

Rachel smiled up at him. "Yes Noah, I'm fine. A little sore but ok otherwise."

Sam didn't look convinced. "Are you sure Rach? That looked brutal Saturday."

Quinn smiled at all the boys. "She really is ok guys. We took care of her this weekend."

Rachel nodded her agreement. "It looks worse today but it doesn't feel any worse than it did yesterday."

They all nodded and talked for a few minutes more as the rest of the kids came in and expressed their concern.

Mr. Shue came in right as the bell rang and ushered them all to their seats. "Ok guys, I need you to have a seat so we can get role call done. After homeroom everyone except for Rachel, Santana and Quinn are to report to the choir room. We are having a meeting with Figgins as a group then he will be talking to the others."

The girls were not happy about Brittany having to go with the Gleeks but she told them it would be better this way so she could spy and make sure they didn't lie. Right before the bell rang Figgins and the Vice Principle Jenkins entered the room.

"Good morning children, I assume that Mr. Shuster has informed you of the meeting in the choir room this morning. I want you all to go with him and Vice Principle Jenkins and she will get your statements as to the events you witnessed. Ms. Berry, Ms. Fabray, and Ms. Lopez will report to my office." He took a breath and turned to the vice principle. "Talk to Ms. Pierce first then send her to my office."

Mr. Shue stepped toward him. "I thought I was sitting in on this meeting as well."

Figgins shook his head. "It's not necessary William but you can come after the children have given their statement. Mrs. Jenkins needs you to help her with that." He turned and left the room as the bell rung not giving him a chance to say anymore.

They all hugged Brittany then headed out the door. They arrived at the office to find Coach, Judy, and to their surprise, Maribel Lopez.

Santana gasp and ran to her. "Mami, I didn't think you'd be home until tonight."

Maribel scooped her up and hugged her close. "I would have been here sooner if you would have called and told me what was going on. I had to hear it from Judy last night when she called thinking I already knew."

Santana shrugged. "I didn't think it was a big deal for you to be here. He hurt Rachel not me and they held me back and didn't let me hit him so I didn't need you to get me out of trouble."

Maribel shook her head, not sure whether to be amused or irritated. "That boy still put his hands on you and pushed you, almost to the ground. I need to be here."

Santana pulled away and looked around. "Where's Papi?"

"We could only get one last minute ticket home so he will be here tonight like we were originally supposed to unless he can get a stand by flight sooner."

She nodded and looked over to Judy as she spoke. "Where is your daddy Rachel? I thought surely I would see him this morning."

Rachel shrugged. "They are out of town on business so I'm not sure if Principle Figgins spoke to them yet or not."

They all turned as Burt, Carol and Finn walked up. Burt pushed Finn into a seat away from the group, spoke harshly to him then he and Carol moved to address the group.

Carol took Rachel's hand. "How are you, how are your arms honey?"

Rachel gave her a sad smile. "I'm ok Mrs. Hummel, just sore."

Finn scoffed but before they could react Figgins came out. "Thank you all for coming, please come in and have a seat."

They all followed him in and took seats where available. Figgins looked over a few papers in front of him then address the group. "An altercation has been brought to my attention that took place this past Saturday. Mr. Shuster informed me that he walked into the room where you were cleaning up from your performance and Ms. Fabray was in the process of kicking Mr. Hudson in is private areas. Upon stopping her he was then told that Mr. Hudson had grabbed Ms. Berry by the arm and twisted it. I have also been told that there are marks on her person from this altercation."

He looked up at Rachel. "Would you mind showing me these marks here or would you prefer to show them to me in private?"

Rachel shook her head. "I can show her here sir. They are not in a place that is intimate."

Rachel stood and took the button down shirt she was wearing off and stood in her tank top. Gasps were heard by the mothers in the room that had yet to see the marks. Carol just sat with tears in her eyes and Burt just shook his head in disappointment."

Santana stood and handed two envelopes to Figgins. "Mr. Figgins, in the top envelope are pictures from Wednesday last week from a different incident where Finn grabbed Rachel by the arm. These are on the arm that is almost healed. Rachel and I were talking and Finn wanted to speak to her. When she told him that she didn't have time and tried to walk away he grabbed her and I had to pull her away to make him let go."

She sat back next to Rachel and took her hand. "The other one is pictures from Saturday. They are dated from right after we got home and the next around 6:00."

Figgins looked over the pictures then looked back to Rachel. "Ms. Berry, can you tell me what happened on Saturday that caused the incident?"

Rachel nodded and explained exactly what happened up to the point of Quinn pulling her away and Santana and Finn arguing. Figgins looked to Quinn. "If he was being held by the boys why did you see fit to kick him Ms. Fabray?"

Quinn sighed. "I shouldn't have done that sir but I was just so angry and upset at him for everything that had happened all week and what he did to all three of us that I didn't use my better judgement and get Mr. Shue when I should have. He hurt one of my best friends, for the second time in a week, I wasn't thinking clearly.

Figgins looked at her confused. "What else happened this week?" Finn stood and started to speak but Burt pulled him back down as Figgins reprimanded him. "Mr. Hudson you will get your chance to talk but you need to just sit down and be quiet until I tell you otherwise."

Finn sat with a huff and folded his arms while Quinn explained what Santana had told her about him hurting Rachel the first time and him pushing her down when Sam helped them. She also explained about when he grabbed her and shoved Santana into Brittany.

Figgins shook his head. "Ms. Fabray, why didn't you bring it to our attention when he grabbed you and shoved Ms. Lopez?"

"He didn't hurt me. He just grabbed my arm and upset me. He also pushed into Santana with his body not his hands and all I was really worried about at the time was removing us from the situations. I was shaken up and not thinking straight. I didn't know at the time that he had hurt Rachel before that."

Figgins looked to Rachel. "Ms. Berry, why didn't you report the first incident earlier in the week?"

Rachel shrugged and leaned into Quinn a little more. "I honestly didn't think anyone would take my word over his. I just tried to stay away from him."

"Why did you think that? You had Ms. Lopez that witnessed it."

Rachel looked down and mumbled a response. "Could you repeat that Ms. Berry?"

Rachel sighed, "Because no one ever believes it when someone speaks out against one of the school elite. He's the golden boy quarterback and I'm just the school loser that was lucky he dated me. It's just the way it is."

Figgins shook his head. "That's not the way it's going to be today Ms. Berry." He looked at the papers on his desk then looked up as the Vice principle opened the door and motioned him to come out. "If you'll excuse me please?" He moved over and exited the room.

Brittany entered the room as he left. She made a bee line for the girls and sat next to Santana reaching over her to hold Rachel's hand. Quinn pulled her closer and rubbed her arm as Santana rubbed her back.

Finn huffed again from his seat. "This is all bull. I just wanted to talk to her. If she would have just talked to me none of this would have happened."

Burt rounded on him. "You cannot be serious right now. She doesn't have to talk to you if she doesn't want to. You have no right to put your hands on another human being ever."

He just shrugged. "Quinn kneed me in my nuts but no one is getting all bent out of shape at her."

Judy stood pissed but Burt beat her to responding. "You're lucky I'm not your age buddy or I would have pulled you out into the yard and told you to pick on someone your own size. You got off easy with that little kick as far as I'm concerned."

Finn just looked exasperated at his mother. "MOM, are you really going to let him talk to me like that?"

Carol just shook her head at him. "Yes I am because you need to hear it. What you did was wrong and you just don't see it. Do you see her arms Finn? You did that and it's not ok. She shouldn't have to fear you. Every time you have move or spoken today she has flinch and burrowed further into Quinn and Santana. It's wrong Finn, can't you see that?"

Finn scoffed, folded his arms and sat back as Figgins, Mr. Shue and Mrs. Jenkins came back in. Carol just shook her head in disappointment while Burt looked ready to throttle the boy.

Figgins sat back and added some notes to the papers in front of him. "Ok, the other children all gave the same description of the events that you ladies have. Ms. Fabray, you will be suspended for 2 days starting today and have detention the rest of this week for kicking Mr. Hudson."

Judy sat forward and put a hand on Quinn's shoulder. "Is that really necessary? She was defending her injured friend."

Figgins shook his head. "No, she attacked after the fact. He was detained at the time and it was not warranted for her to do so to get him away from Ms. Berry. The punishment stands. I cannot punish one and not the other."

Judy sat back unhappy with this but it could definitely have been worse. Figgins finished writing and looked up again. "Mr. Hudson, since this a first offence and I haven't had any problems with you prior, I am giving your two weeks suspension and three weeks detention with Coach Sylvester after you return. You are also not allowed to participate in any extracurricular activities or school based activities during this time."

The girls, the moms and coach were not happy about this and everyone started talking at once. Principle Figgins stood. "OK THAT'S ENOUGH."

Everyone stopped and looked to him. "It is a more than fitting punishment."

Mr. Shue stepped forward and put a hand on Finn's shoulder. "What about Nationals? He will be barely finished with his punishment in time for the competition. We need him to compete and that won't give him enough time to get the choreography and music down."

Sue scoffed. "Please William, you never start on music or choreograph until the week before competition. He will be back with a few weeks to spare. If not I'm sure I can lend a Cheerio to dance and sing back up."

"Can't we just let him participate while still fulfilling the required suspension and detention? It is a first offence after all."

Rachel shook her head and leaned back into Quinn. Judy sat forward and rubbed her shoulder. "I think you are missing the point here. He physically assaulted not one but three of the girls, left marks on Rachel twice, shoved Santana twice and grabbed Quinn. He's getting off easy. Any of us could press charges, especially Rachel's fathers."

Will shook his head irritated. "They aren't even here. Finn is a good kid and I think that the punishment is fine except for not letting him perform in Glee."

Maribel stood pissed. "Just because her fathers are unable to attend this meeting due to work conflicts doesn't mean she is going to be treated poorly. I won't have it."

Judy stood beside her. "I won't either. I know her father and he would be the first to have a call in to the ACLU and his lawyer before he lets Rachel be treated unfairly."

Will just sat back. "Fine but we still need him for Glee."

Finn sat forward getting angry. "I'm the male lead, they need me and I won't be able to go to prom either. That's not fair."

Carol pushed him back in his seat. "You should have thought of that before you were hurting girls less than half your size. You will do as Principle Figgins says."

Figgins looked at his calendar. Prom is the Saturday of the last week of your detention. After the end of the school day that Friday you are off punishment and are allowed to attend Prom. I will not budge on anything else."

Will shook his head. "But the New Directions are singing at prom. He needs to be able to rehearse."  
Figgins put his pen down and frowned at him. "I am not giving on this William. He is not allowed to attend Glee until the Monday after his punishment is over. That includes singing for prom. At least I'm allowing him to attend unless he gets into trouble between now and then. Now unless there is anything else that is all I have to say."

Maribel took a card out of her purse and handed it to Carol. "I mean no disrespect here but this is the number to a good friend of mine. He is a psychiatrist and specializes in anger management. He takes all types of insurance and if you don't have any he will work something out with you as a favor to me because I'm telling you right now. If this happens again with any of these girls, there will be charges brought up. I spoke with Brittany's mother and she agrees. I know Judy does too and I'm sure Hiram and Leroy feel the same as well."

She squeezed her shoulder and sat back down. "Just get him some help before he really hurts somebody. Please."

Carol wiped a tear from her eye and nodded. "I will call him when we get back home. Thank you and I am so sorry for my son."

Finn looked at her like she was crazy. "I am not going to see some shrink mom."

Burt rounded on him. "You will go or you will not be returning to Glee, going to prom, or any other fun thing for the rest of the year. If you do not straighten up you are being shipped off to Military school once this year is over so I suggest you do what you are told and fix yourself."

Finn looked incredulously to Carol. "Don't look at me Finn, I agree with him. This is happening."

The girls were all told to wait outside the office while the parent finished talking to Figgins. Finn just stayed in his seat with his arms crossed pissed as hell. Once they finished talking Burt pushed Finn into a chair in the hall than he and Carol walked up to the girls.

Burt held out an envelope to Rachel. "Here, I want you to have this back. It's in the parking lot. Your dad can pay me when he gets home from his business trip. I don't like to think of you not being able to get around."

Rachel pulled out an invoice and the keys to her car. "I can't take this Mr. Hummel. Not until it is paid for, it wouldn't be right."

Burt shook his head. "Honestly it will help to have it move out of my way at the shop and not having to store it at night. I know your dad is good for it. I've been fixing his cars since I opened the shop when you were just a wee little thing. Please, it will make me feel better."

Rachel looked back up. "Well, if you're sure? Thank you, this will be a big help. I promise to make sure my dad gets this and pays you as promptly as possible."

Burt smiled. "I know you will. Be safe and we will see you girls later."

He and Carol said their goodbyes than grabbed Finn and left. Quinn turned to Coach as she and the moms walked up. "Hey Coach, am I allowed on school grounds in the morning before school starts?"

Sue looked her over for a moment before replying. "Why would you need to be here before school starts Fabray?"

Quinn shrugged. "We run in the mornings before school together. I just wanted to see if I still could tomorrow."

Sue looked to Judy who nodded then looked back to Quinn. "I don't see why not. Just be off school grounds before 7:00 when the students start to arrive."

Quinn nodded relieved. "Thanks Coach."

Sue nodded and walked away while Judy put an arm around Quinn. "Well, it looks like you're with me today. Sounds like a cleaning day to me."

"Awe mom," Quinn was not happy about this.

Judy just chuckled. "Get over it and I will allow the girls to come over tonight for dinner even though you are suspended from school. Maribel you are welcome as well."

Quinn perked up and looked to her friends. Santana just shrugged a looked to her mom. Maribel smiled. "We'll be there; we can bring Britt if her mom says it's ok."

They all looked to Rachel and she smiled. "I'll be there. I have my car back now so I can come."

Quinn squealed and hugged her mom whispering in her ear. Judy nodded and Quinn moved over to Rachel. "Mom said it's ok if you want to stay the night since your dads aren't home."

Rachel nods. "I'd like that. Thank you Mrs. Fabray."

Judy hugged her. "You're welcome honey but I told you to call me Judy or you can call me Mama J like Santana and Brittany does. No more of the formalities."

Rachel hugged her back. "Sorry Judy."

Judy stepped back and clapped her hands once. "Ok, dinner is at 6:00 but you are all more than welcome to show up right after school if you would like."

They all agreed to the time and Judy and Maribel moved away talking waiting for Quinn to say goodbye.

Quinn looked to Santana. "San, keep an eye out. I'm not here to help."

Santana nodded. "I got this." They were both worried about Rachel with Quinn not there for the next two days.

Britt smile. "San can walk with Rachel to all her classes today and tomorrow. I don't need her to walk me until you get back."

They both nodded but Rachel just looked irritated. "Um guys, I'm not an invalid. I can walk myself to class."

They just gave her a look and Quinn grabbed her hands. "Please Rach, for me? It will make me feel better."

Rachel just sighed. "Fine, but it's under protest."

Quinn chuckled. "Noted, ok, I need to go but I will see you all tonight."

They all agreed and hugged her goodbye then headed to class as she left. They school day was uneventful and Mr. Shue canceled practice so they headed out right after school. Rachel went home and packed and overnight bag then headed to Quinn's house. When she arrived Santana and Brittany were already there.

Rachel rang the doorbell and smiled as Judy answered the door. "Good evening Judy. I hope you had a lovely day with Quinn today."

Judy just smiled at her and ushered her in. "Hello Rachel, yes we had a fun day even if we were just doing so spring cleaning. You can go on up, the girls are in Quinn's room."

Rachel nodded and headed up the stairs to find the girls.

Up in Quinn's room they were all stretched out on the bed listening to music talking. Santana rolled over and laid her head on Brittany's stomach. "It was mostly just a boring day. Shue was still bent out of shape during Spanish and just had us watching a film while he sulked. Then after lunch they announced that Glee practice was canceled so we all just headed over here. Tiny should be here soon."

Quinn smiled. "At least I didn't miss anything important in Glee. We don't have practice again until Wednesday when I get back."

Brittany scoffed running her hand through Santana's hair. "What would you have missed in Glee? The week's assignment would have been something about forgiveness and letting things go. I'm sure it will be the assignment next week."

They all laughed as Rachel pushed the door open. "Hey, your mom said to just come up."

Quinn rolled her head off the side of the bed and looked at her upside down. "Hey Rach, yea it's cool. Come join us, were just chillin until dinner."

Rachel smiled setting her bag by the door and crawled on the bed in the empty spot between Quinn and Santana. She leaned back on her hands and nudged Quinn's leg with her knee. "So what are we talking about?"

Santana chuckled. "What our assignment for Glee would have been this week if we had had practice."

Rachel laughed. "What, the importance of forgiveness and moving on from conflict?"

They all laughed hysterically and Santana slapped her leg playfully. "That's what Britt said."

They laughed some more then calmed and talked about the rest of their day and plans for the rest of the week. A little before 6:00 they headed down stairs to help set the table for dinner. They found Maribel sitting at the island talking to Judy.

Once they helped get everything set for dinner then all sat and had a nice meal together. Around 9:00 Maribel, Santana and Brittany all left for home. Quinn and Rachel said their good nights to Judy then headed up to bed. Once they changed they climbed into bed and snuggled down for the night.

Rachel yawned and smiled softly. "My goodness, your bed is soft Quinn."

Quinn chuckled. "It's no softer than yours, you're just really tired."

Rachel nodded slightly. "You're probably right. I slept less than four hours last night."

Quinn moved in closer. "Well close your eyes and sleep Rach. You're not alone tonight and you don't have to worry about the giant idiot."

Smiling brighter Rachel leaned over and kissed her cheek then settle back in. "Thank you Quinn."

Quinn took Rachel's hand in her own and they both fell asleep fairly quickly and slept soundly for the rest of the night, content to just be together.

A/N: Ok, the Finn drama is dealt with for now. We will see if he learns his lesson later. Next up, Rachel and Quinn get closer.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

It had been a month since Regionals and in that time a lot had happened. Finn had been back to school for two weeks but had kept his distance. A few of the football and hockey players had to be put in their place for trying to slushy Rachel while they thought she was alone on three different instances. Santana or Quinn had been able to stop it from happening and made an example of the boys.

The girls also became a lot closer during this time becoming inseparable. If you saw one the other three were not far away. Santana and Rachel's affection for each other as friend grew. All of the girls found their place within their group. Rachel and Quinn had gotten so close that they were always together, even if Santana and Brittany were elsewhere, you rarely saw them apart.

Rachel was also becoming a fixture in the Fabray, Lopez and Peirce homes. All of the parents loved her and had no problem including her when they congregated to one of their homes, but most of the time they seemed to be at the Fabray home. Judy was generally home and liked making cookies and things for them. All the girls enjoyed her spoiling them and not having to eat take out as much.

Things with Rachel and Quinn were at a standstill though. They had gotten closer as friends but they were no closer to telling each other how they felt. Rachel was worried she would scare her off because she was wrong about the other girl's feelings or that she was not ready. Though she was certain that Quinn felt the same for her she just waited and said nothing, always hoping that she would eventually confess.

Quinn was no longer worried about losing her home as Judy proved over and over that she only wanted her happy. She was worried that she wasn't good enough for Rachel and she would hold her back. Rachel was a lot like Santana when it came to her people. They were loyal, caring, dedicated and did not love small. If she let herself be fully loved by the girl she would give up her dreams for her. She was telling Rachel the truth when they fought before Regionals. She felt that the most she would ever accomplish was becoming a real-estate agent or someone's house wife.

So, they were sitting stagnate not falling back but not moving forward either. Even with things seemingly on standby Rachel was happier than she could ever remember being. She and Santana were so close that their blondes often rolled their eyes or shook their heads in an exasperated amusement at their antics. The more she got comfortable with them the more her true personality came out and they found out Rachel was hilarious and quick witted. With her and Santana there was never a dull moment.

The only down side for Rachel was she still hadn't heard from her fathers. She was starting to become rather worried. She wasn't sure if they were just really busy, out of range somehow, hurt or they just didn't care about her anymore. She didn't know and had no way of finding out so for now she would just roll with it and see what happened.

Prom was in a week and they still had to go shopping and rehearse the songs they planned on singing. National's was in three weeks and they needed to complete their set list and start working through the choreography but Mr. Shue drug his feet on everything wanting to wait for Finn to get back. This pissed off the girls and most of the rest of the glee club. The others, like Lauren and Artie, we just indifferent to it and were content to go with the flow.

It was Friday night and she had just got home from school. She came in and ran upstairs to shower and change before the girls got there for movie night. It was her night to host and she still needed to get somethings ready downstairs. Once she was ready she ran back down and started preparing dinner.

She loved when it was her night because it gave her a chance to show off her cooking skills and all the girls had loved everything she had made them so far. She often ended up in the kitchen with Judy helping with the meals. She was no longer strictly vegan as her body decided it couldn't handle the life style. She was now a vegetarian though she still tried to stay away from some things like eggs.

As she finished putting the food in the crockpot and oven, she cleaned up the prep dishes and moved into the den. She sat at the piano and started playing the new song she had been working on since before Regionals. Back then it only had music, no concrete words. Now it had lyrics and was almost done. She just needed to talk to Santana about background music.

The song was a duet and she was very happy with the way it turned out. Whether anybody but Santana ever heard it was still to be determined do to the context of the song. It was another that was hard for her to sing but not as heartbreaking to her as the last song. Her biggest fear was that everyone would see right through her, especially Quinn.

She sang as she played trying to switch up on both parts but it wasn't 100% successful and she was getting frustrated. She just wanted to hear it all the way through. A voice behind her startled her. "Hey Tiny, you seem to be having trouble, need some help."

Rachel turned with her hand to her heart. "Jesus Santana, you scared me to death."

Santana laughed and sat beside her. "I would have knocked but I heard the music and knew you wouldn't hear me so I used my key." She paused looking at the music on the piano. "It sounds choppy, what's up?"

Rachel sighed. "It's a duet and I'm only one person."

Santana chuckled. "It sucks don't it? Life would be so much better with two Tiny Hobbits running around. How about I try and help."

Rachel slapped her playfully then turned to the music. "I'm not sure it will work, it's not in your key but I would appreciate trying." She stopped and looked around them. "Hey, where are the girls?"

Santana just shrugged. "Don't know, they said they had something to do and would be by in a bit."

Rachel scrunched her face in confusion then shook it off moving back to the music. They ran it through a few times with Santana singing the lower part. It wasn't perfect but it gave Rachel a better feel for it as a whole.

Santana sat back thinking about the possibilities for the music. "I have some ideas for the background, definitely heavier on the percussion. I think a prominent beat throughout. I have others get me a pen and paper."

Rachel handed her a notebook and pencil than watched as she wrote furiously. After a few minutes she sat the notebook down and looked to the music on the piano. "Ok, let's sing it again then I'm going to run home and get my mixer and stuff. I have it in my head and if I don't get it down now it will drive me nuts."

Rachel smiled with a nod and started playing again. They ran through it twice and Santana smile. "You did it again Tiny. This is awesome I just wish my voice suited it so we could get a better feel for it."

"I can try," the unexpected timid voice startled them and they swung around to see a nervous looking Quinn and a beaming Brittany.

Santana smiled. "Oh definitely, Quinn has a deeper voice then I do."

Rachel blushed deeply and looked back to her music. "It could work."

With a nod Santana got up and pushed Quinn to the piano. "Ok, Britt and I are going to run to my house and get my equipment. You guys run through the lyrics and see if you can get it better than I did." And with that she was out the door with a smiling Brittany bouncing out behind her.

Rachel smiled shyly. "Do you mind running through it with me?"

Quinn swallowed thickly. "No, I don't mind. This song is… its amazing Rach."

Rachel blushed looking down. "Thank you." Taking a deep breath she turned back to the sheet music and reset it at the beginning.

She and Quinn ran through the song several times and Quinn's voice was perfect for the song. Rachel smiled to herself, of course it would be perfect for her, Quinn had been on the diva's mind the whole time she was writing it. By the time Santana and Brittany made it back Quinn had a good handle on the lyrics.

While Santana set up all her equipment Rachel excused herself and moved to the kitchen to check on dinner. After singing her song with Quinn she just needed a moment. She was pulling the bread she made for dinner and the banana bread she made for dessert out of the oven when Quinn came in.

Rachel smiled as Quinn moved over to her and bumped her shoulder. "I love the song Rachel. I think everyone will love it for our National's duet."

Rachel shook her head. "I don't know. I'm not sure I want to share that one with the group. Besides, Mr. Shue would want me to sing it with Finn and I refuse to sing that song with him." Just the thought of singing it with him upset her.

Quinn noticed her visibly shaking and pulled her into a hug. "Hey, it's ok. You don't have to show it to them, but if you wanted to, you can dictate who sings it with you. It's your song Rachel; you can pull it if he argues the point. Besides, Puck's voice is more suited to it than Finn's is."

Rachel sighs into her and holds on tight. "I know but you know how he is, he'll push for it and I am so tired of fighting."

Quinn pulled her face up to look in her eyes. "Maybe, but if you want to show it to them I will stand by your decision to sing it with Puck and fight for you. I'm sure Santana will help fight too. If he won't agree to it then you just pull it and we don't sing it."

"I know in theory that would work, but the others will be mad at me if they like it and I pull it. We need a duet and no one else has been successful at writing one."

They had decided to keep with original songs after finding out that they were required to use the solo from Regionals. They already had the new group number written by the whole group. Santana finished the music, Britt and Mike had the choreography finished as well. They were just waiting for the Monday after Prom to start on it. Mr. Shue said he wanted them to concentrate on their prom performances but they knew he was just waiting for Finn.

Quinn shook her head. "What they want doesn't matter Rach. It's your song sweetie, if you don't want to sing it with him you don't have to." She kissed her forehead and pulled her closer. "Just think about it. If you decided to do it than you just let Santana and I deal with the others."

Rachel nodded into her shoulder. "Ok Quinn, I'll think about it, thank you."

With one last squeeze she released Quinn and move to the crockpot to finish checking dinner. After stirring it and replacing the lid she turned back to Quinn. "It'll be ready in about thirty minutes. By the time we set the table and pull Santana away from her toys it should be ready."

Quinn nodded and moved to the cupboard to start grabbing dishes. "What are we having?"

"Vegetable stew with that bread you like."

Quinn smile brightly and reach up and grabbed four bowls and four small plates down. "Oh I love that stuff. It's the right amount of hard and soft. It's perfect for stew." She bounced over to the table and started putting out the dishes in her hands.

Rachel chuckled at her enthusiasm and grabbed silverware and glasses. "There's also a fruit salad and I made some banana bread for desert or snack later."

Quinn smiled brighter and they finished setting it all up. Once they were done they pulled Santana away from her toys and they enjoyed a wonderful meal. After dinner Santana went back to it and the others cleaned up then joined her in the den to help.

A few hours later they had a solid track and the girls were happy with the overall sound and how it sounded with Rachel and Quinn singing it together.

Santana sat back with a self-satisfied smile on her face. "Damn we're good. Between us we have managed to write and musically produce four songs in a little over a month's time. We are awesome."

Rachel laughed. "Two of those the others helped with but you have done amazing with producing all the music for them."

Santana scoffed. "Please, Loser like me was mostly Britt, Tina and I. The new group song was mostly the four of us and the two others were all you Tiny. If we don't win Nationals with these three songs' there is something seriously wrong."

Rachel sighed. "I don't know if I want to use my new song yet San. Shue will want me to sing it with Finn."

Quinn grabbed her hand. "I already told her not to worry about that. She can just pull the song if he has a problem with it and we will have her back with him and the others."

Santana sat forward. "Damn right we will. He cannot make you sing this song with Gigantor. Puck is better suited for it vocally anyway."

Brittany nodded. "I think Quinn is the most suited for it."

Santana smiled. "I agree, but there is no way that Shue will let two girls sing the duet so runner up is Puck. Although I do think you should sing it together to show the group."

Rachel shrugged. "I don't know guys. I'll think about it."

Quinn squeezed her hand with a nodded and Santana started shutting down her equipment. "Ok Tiny, tomorrow I will go home, print it all off and make CDs for the backup music."

Quinn perked up a little. "Make a track without the piano too, I want to try and play it. I love the piano in this." She looked over to Rachel and took her hand. "If that's ok with you that is?"

Rachel gave her hand a squeeze. "It's fine Quinn. I will let you know before Monday if I decide to show them."

Santana clapped her hands together. "Excellent, I'll have it all ready by Monday to sing. Britt and I can do backup vocals for you guys on Monday too."

Brittany squealed and bounced in place. "Oh this is going to be so much fun. I love singing with you guys."

They all laughed as Rachel stood. "I haven't decided to do it yet guys. Let's go get changed for bed a throw on a movie. it's after 11:00."

They all stood and Quinn nudged her. "You're going to do it. You can't not share that with the world but your right let's head up."

They went up, changed and snuggled down in Rachel's big bed. A half hour later they were all asleep, Santana and Brittany wrapped up in each other and Rachel being Quinn's little spoon. This was the norm when they slept together and they no longer questioned it. They didn't talk about it either, they just enjoyed it.

Saturday morning they all got up and ate together before Santana and Brittany headed out. Santana's mom was home and wanted mother daughter time. Britt's grandmother was coming for the weekend so she was need home early. Quinn and Rachel were just going to hang there since Judy was working this weekend.

It was late evening and Rachel was lying on the couch opposite Quinn, their legs intertwined. She had been deep in thought not paying attention to the movie at all than looked over to Quinn. "Did you ask your mom about shopping tomorrow?"

Quinn turned her attention to her. "Yep she gave me the card and told me my budget. Did you decide what you're going to do? Santana said she talked to Mrs. H and she found some nice stuff for you and Britt. I think she wanted to go there first."

Rachel nodded. "Yea, she told me. I'm glad I haven't had to use my clothing allowance since last month. I'll have enough money for the nicer dresses she finds."

Quinn smiled knowing that she and Santana went shopping for dresses that they thought the girls would like. They picked out 5 each and whichever ones they don't pick they will take back to the store. Mrs. H agreed to help them so they were all set for the next day. This is why Santana was alone yesterday and Quinn took Britt with her, so she could drop the dresses off. "Yea, Britt's mom saved some extra so she can get a nicer one too. I'm glad we all decided to go all together as a group. It looks better for them."

Rachel nodded. "I am too. I know Britt really wanted to go together but San just isn't ready to be out."

Quinn smiled thinking of her friends. "Maybe she'll be ready before homecoming next year or something. Britt just wants to tell the world but Santana is scared people will look at her differently and she won't be able to protect her."

Rachel sits up a little causing their legs to slide together and she has to bite back a moan at the feeling. "Uh… Yea, she's terrified someone will hurt Britt. I keep telling her she has us to help and the Glee boys won't let anything happen to her either, but she's not convinced. We all have classes together all day and Britt is alone in most of hers. It scares me too. I wish there was a way for us to all be in classes together."

"I know it worries me too. Well, there's not a lot we can do about it right now and Santana isn't going to come out until she is sure Britt will be ok."

Rachel looked to the TV than back again. "Other than helping cover for the girls are you sure you're ok with going as a group. I know you wanted to try and get prom queen and that usually takes going with a boy."

Quinn just shrugs. "Honestly I really don't care about all that stuff anymore. I'd rather go with you guys instead of some boy I don't care about. What about you? No want for some boy to ask you out?"

Rachel smiled and shook her head. "No, I'm happy to be going with you guys too. Add to that getting to perform and I'm a happy camper. I don't need some boy to have fun. I'll just dance with you guys. That is if you'll save me a dance."

She tried to sound cheery but Quinn could hear the underlying nerves and smiled. "I'll make sure there's a place for you on my dancing card."

Rachel giggled and lay back. "Did you pick the songs you're singing?"

"Yep, I've been practicing too. I'm all set with a solo, the number with you and the girls and another Mercedes asked me to sing with her."

Rachel smiled. "I picked mine to. I have two solos, one I picked and one that Brittany requested and our song together. This is going to be so much fun."

Quinn stretched and yawned looking at the clock on her phone. "Jeez it's getting late. We should head up if we're going to get up and meet the girls at the park for a run in the morning and we have shopping after that."

Rachel got up and pulled her up with her. "Yes let's go to bed. I can hardly keep my eyes open and tomorrow, as fun as it will be, is going to be a long day."

Once they changed they settled into bed and Rachel rolled over to face Quinn. "I've been thinking about my new song."

Quinn rolled until they were face to face. "What about it?"

Rachel looked at her apprehensively. "I want to sing it for the group and I want you to sing with me. Please just promise to help when I have to fight Mr. Shuster."

Quinn pulled her into a hug trying to help calm her. "I promise Rachel. I will help you fight him all the way. It's your song you can dictate what happens with it."

Rachel nodded into her neck and settle into her. "Thank you."

Rachel didn't move out of her embrace and Quinn didn't mind. They settled into each other relaxed and both quickly fell asleep.

A/N: Ok, this chapter didn't seem to flow the way I wanted it to no matter how I tweaked it but here it is. Up next, shopping for dresses and Glee's reaction to Rachel's new song.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

Morning found the girls at the park stretching waiting for Santana and Brittany. Quinn leaned heavily into Rachel's leg stretching it up and level with her body. It was one of her favorite stretches whether she was being stretched or she was stretching Rachel.

Quinn held the stretch just a little too long seemingly lost in thought and Rachel smirked before clearing her throat. "You ok Quinn?"

Quinn shook out of it and released her leg and pulled up the next. "I'm fine sorry. I was just thinking and lost count."

Rachel smiled and chuckled to herself. "It's fine Quinn. It happens to me all the time." She relaxed into the stretch and just relished the feel of Quinn on top of her.

As they continued stretching each other Santana and Brittany showed up and began stretching themselves. Santana looked over as she moved into position. "Hello bitches, been here long?"

Rachel rolled her eyes at her sometimes crude friend. "We've been here since the agreed upon time to meet."

Santana shook her head. "Don't get your panties in a wad Tiny; I got a little distracted this morning."

Rachel scoffed. "My panties are just fine Santana I was just answering your question. I'm sure if you're late you have a good reason. You hate being late more than I do. What's wrong?"

She shrugged and Brittany sighed. "Her abuela came by this morning and is planning on staying for a week or so. Her Mami and Papi are leaving for a few days and her abuela thought San needed to be looked after."

Santana was not happy. "My parents are not home on a regular basis and now at the age of 17 she thinks I need a babysitter. Which means you sleeping over at my house on Wednesday is probably not going to happen Tiny. She's crazy about school night this and that. I have to see if Mami will talk to her and tell her you're staying."

Rachel shrugged. "It's fine San. I'll be there Friday night anyway. We're doing the spa thing your mom got for all of us to get ready for prom."

San just sat back on her hands. "I know but I hate that she is doing this. I don't understand why she's doing it now. I mean, I love mi abuela but this is silly. You always stay at one of our houses on Wednesday and it's my week."

Quinn moved over and sat on the other side of her. "Hey it's not a problem. She can stay with me this week if necessary and you can have my next weeks' slot."

Rachel chuckled. "You treat me like the child of a divorced couple compromising on weekend visitation. I am capable of sleeping by myself on Wednesday."

Santana smile for the first time that morning. "I know that Tiny but you know how OCD I am about stuff. This shit was scheduled."

They all laughed and stood as Rachel moved to run her hands up and down Santana's arms "Let's try not to let it get you too upset San. We'll figure it out besides we're supposed to be having fun shopping and stuff today. Let's get our run in then we can go by my house to shower. You both have extra clothes there so you don't have to see her until we finish shopping today."

Santana smiled and hugged her friend. "Fine, but Mami wants all of you to come over after we finish shopping and stay for dinner. They are leaving in the morning and they'll be back on Thursday. Mami doesn't want to miss taking pictures on prom night."

They all nodded and head off through the park for their run. They had found some jogging trails a few weeks ago when they came to feed the ducks with Brittany and they loved running on them. It was better scenery then houses so they started making this their weekend running spot. They talked about a little of everything or nothing at all on their runs just content to be together. The full run of the trails took them just over an hour like always and they leave for Rachel's after cooldown and stretching.

An hour later found them at the Lima Bean for a coffee and muffin breakfast than they were on their way to see Mrs. H about some dresses. They arrived and Brittany excitedly bounced up to the counter pulling Rachel with her. "Hey Mrs. H."

The sweet older lady smiled and moved over to them. "Hello sweetheart, are you ready to try on the fabulous dresses I found you?"

Brittany nodded furiously. "Oh yes, we are going to look so hot for prom."

Rachel smiled at her enthusiasm and energy. "Good morning Mrs. Harmon. I trust you are having a good morning."

"I am now. I always love seeing you girls and I was bored before you came in. Now, let's see what I have for you." She walked over to a rack behind her and pushed it to them. "There are 5 dresses in each of your sizes and some shoes as well. Let me know if you need anything else."

Rachel and Brittany stood shocked with mouths gaping. Rachel recovered first, "Oh my god these are so gorgeous. I have no idea how she finds things this nice here."

Brittany finally recovered herself and started bouncing again. "She's just got it like that. She's awesome. Come on Rachie let's try them on."

They all laughed as they followed her pushing the rack to the dressing area. Santana and Quinn smiled brightly behind them happy to have pleased the girls. They decided to take turns so they could help each other pick and Rachel was going first. She tried them all on by herself trying to decide which one the girls would like best on her. She than put them in order of least favorite to the one she loved the most and put the one she least liked back on.

Santana, Brittany and Quinn sat outside the room wondering what was taking so long. "Come on Tiny. You're too small to have to take this long to dress."

Quinn slapped her arm giggling quietly and Rachel came out at that moment. "Calm yourself Santana. Perfection takes time."

She turned and modeled the dress. Santana stood and walked over. "It's nice but it will need tailored around the hips."

They all agreed and she went and tried on the next. By the time she had tried four out of five on the decided that they were all nice and all but the one fit perfect but they were waiting for her to come out in the last dress.

Rachel paused in front of the mirror before exiting a little nervous. This was her favorite and she wanted the girls to like it. She took a deep breath and walked out.

Quinn looked up as she came out and the breath was knocked out of her body. "Dear God." She whispered and only Santana heard her but she was speechless herself.

Brittany stood and clapped excitedly. "OH MY GOD RACHIE… That's the one."

Rachel smiled and looked to the other two. Quinn just nodded her head dumbly and Santana just stared with her jaw on the ground. Shaking out of it Santana stood and handed her a pair of silver pumps. "My god Tiny you look stunning."

Rachel blushed looking down then looked to Quinn hoping for three for three. "I… it's just… Jesus Rachel." She said breathlessly.

Santana laughed and clapped her on the back. "That's the one Tiny. You are going to turn every head in that bitch."

Rachel chuckled and slipped on the shoes. "Are you sure these shoe will look the best?"

They all nodded watching as she walked around testing them and Brittany beamed at her. "Oh yes they are perfect. Rachie if I didn't have a girlfriend I would so be all up on that."

Santana laughed. "True that." Quinn was still nodding dumbly.

Rachel just laughed along with San. "Ok, ok, I get the point. I'm going to change now so we can help Britt pick hers out."

Brittany opted to just try them all on the first time for the girls. The fourth dress was the one as Santana had a similar reaction to Britt as Quinn did to Rachel. She jumped up from her seat and ran over whispering something in Brittany's ear that caused her eyes to roll back in her head as she nodded furiously. "I'll take this one." She declared as Santana pushed her into the changing room.

Quinn and Rachel looked at each other for a moment then burst out laughing. "Oh my god, they're going to get us kicked out of this place."

Rachel laughed harder. "As least we are the only ones in here right now."

She and Quinn moved over and started straightening up the dresses back on the rack. A few minutes later they came out of the dressing room with smiles plastered on their faces and the dresses from the room in their hands.

Santana discretely rubbed against her as she reached over and grabbed the dress they were not keeping. "She tried this on while we were in there. It wasn't as nice at the last one."

Rachel and Quinn smirked as she hung it with the others and they pushed it back to the front to Mrs. H. Rachel and Brittany put their purchases on the counter as Santana and Quinn put the cart back behind it. Quinn would pick them back up tomorrow after glee to take them back. Mrs. H smiled at them than turned to Rachel and Brittany.

"Oh girls, these were my favorites too and I saw that they looked so good on you. You should turn many heads at the prom but hopefully the heads you want to turn beat out the rest." She said with a wink to a blushing Santana and Quinn.

Rachel and Brittany made their purchases and they headed to the mall waving goodbye to sweet older woman. They made it to the mall by noon and headed for the food court. Rachel found them a table and sat waiting for the others.

Quinn came up and sat beside her, Santana and Britt across from them. "Hey, are you not eating Rach?"

Rachel just shrugged. "My food court card is empty so I'll eat when I get home. It's fine."

Quinn shook her head getting up. "No, if you wait that long you'll be sick. We're going to Santana's after this remember?" She walked off toward the Chinese place.

Rachel called after her. "Quinn its fine. I'll eat than."

Santana grabbed her hand. "Hey, get over it. There is no way we're eating in front of you and letting you go hungry."

Rachel looked away with her eyes glistening. "I don't want to be a burden. I would have been fine."

Quinn sat back down and set a tray in front of her. "Sweetie, I'm not letting you go this long without food. The only thing you ate today was a muffin this morning." She turned Rachel's face back to look at her. "You are not now nor will you ever be a burden to me or any of us so I don't want to hear it. You have bought our food plenty of times at your house so just eat and let's finish our shopping."

Rachel nodded as Quinn wiped the single tear that fell and they turned to their food. Brittany immediately started talking about what styles of dresses that Quinn and Santana should get trying to break the tension and get Rachel to calm again.

Three hours and two stores later the girls were still looking for Quinn and Santana dresses. Brittany leaned back in her chair as Santana went back in the dressing room to try on another. "You should have just let Mrs. H find you the perfect dress San."

Quinn chuckled as she heard Santana laughing. "You're probably right Britt but we don't have time for her to find us some now so we better stick with it."

Brittany sighed. "Ok fine but now me and Rachie are going to go and pick a few and bring them to you since you can't pick your own very well." She pulled a chuckling Rachel behind her and they headed back out to the store front to look for dresses.

Santana stuck her head out of the dressing room with a raised eyebrow. "Did she just imply that we can't shop?"

Quinn giggled. "Oh no, she flat out said it. They can't do any worse than we have."

Santana just shrugged and went back in the changing room to take off the last dress. Twenty minutes later they came back with a handful of dresses each. Brittany went in to Santana's changing room and Rachel handed hers to Quinn. "There are 5 there but I think I know which one will look the best."

Quinn smiled. "Why not just tell me which one it is and save us the time?"

Rachel smirked and leaned back in the chair her head against the wall. "Now where is the fun in that?"

Quinn slapped her arm playfully as Santana came out. Their jaws dropped and eyes bugged out. Rachel whistled. "Oh San, that is definitely the one." She looked over to Brittany with a small smirk. "I thought you were going to make her try the others first?"

Brittany just smiled. "I know but I couldn't wait. I knew this would look so amazing on her."

Quinn stood and handed her a pair of black shoes sitting nearby. "Here, these are perfect for that dress. San, you're breathtaking."

Santana blushed slightly and put on the shoes. "Ok, I agree, I'm not going to try any others. This is the one now go try yours on."

Quinn looked back to Rachel. "You sure you won't tell me which one?"

Rachel smiled and shook her head. "Nope, I want to see them all."

Shaking her head in amusement Quinn went to start trying them on. She came out in the first two and the girls liked them but said they just weren't right. They moved to clean up the mess they had made of the dressing area when she went to try on the third.

Rachel was moving to hang a dress when she came back out and dropped it to the ground. Santana looked at the diva then followed her line of sight with a soft smile as she saw Quinn standing there. "Oh Quinn, sweetie it's perfect." Santana said as she walked over looked her over.

Brittany giggled at Rachel standing frozen. "That's the one Rachie liked. It's beautiful on you Q."

Quinn blushed slightly and looked to Rachel. Rachel opened and closed her mouth a few times than cleared her throat then tried again. "My goodness it's even better than I thought. That's it honey."

The look of absolute adoration on Rachel's face caused her face to burn crimson and Santana smirked. "Ok Q, take the shoes Britt is holding and let's pay for our dresses."

Quinn nodded, took the shoes and headed back in the room to change. Rachel's gaze didn't waver until Quinn was out of sight. Shaking it off she looked to Santana when she moved in beside her and whimpered. Santana chuckled softly. "I know hermana, she's stunning."

Rachel nodded and took a breath. "Well, the night will be interesting at least."

They laughed and moved on to pay for the outfits when Quinn came back out. Once they paid for everything they moved on to the jewelry store for accessories then headed to Santana's house.

They went to Santana's room to separate things from bags. "Why don't you all leave your stuff here and we can all get ready together." She said pulling out some of the jewelry.

Brittany and Quinn shared a look then Brittany wrapped her arms around her from behind. "Q and I talked and we want to get ready at her house. You and Rachie can get ready here then pick us up. Mom and Mama J are ok with this. Mom is going to be there to take pictures."

Santana leaned back and kissed her softly. "If that's what you want baby, we can do that." She looked to Rachel. "You ok with that Tiny?"

Rachel just smiled. "Of course, that's fine with me too. Did your dad get the limo like you thought he was going to or are we taking your car?"

Santana nodded. "Yes, I'll see if he can get it to come a little early so we can pick up the girls and give the moms time for pictures then we can head to prom."

They talk more about prom plans while they separated their things. Once they had it all separated Quinn and Britt put their things in Quinn's car. After they all decided to pile on Santana's bed to snuggle together and watch a movie until dinner. They were in a dog pile all wrapped in each other and fell asleep half way through the movie.

This is how Maribel and Santana's abuela Alma found them an hour later. Maribel chuckled at the sight. "They're like a litter of kittens all lying on top of each other."

Alma scoffed and pulled her out of the room. "You just allow that behavior?"

Maribel shook her head in confusion. "What do you mean mama, what behavior?"

Alma threw her hands up. "A bunch of girls lying all over each other. Is that the way you want Santana to behave?"

Maribel shook her head in disbelief now. "Mama, they just fell asleep watching TV. There is nothing wrong with what they are doing."

Alma just looked at her exasperated and went down stairs. Maribel looked back in on the girls to make sure they were still asleep then headed downstairs herself. She was worried about this week with her mother in law staying with Santana. It could turn disaster if she wasn't careful.

Downstairs she found Alma making coffee. "Mama, you do not have to stay past Tuesday. Santana will be at Rachel's house on Wednesday and I will be home Thursday."

Alma waved her off. "Nonsense, it is a school night. She can stay with me."

Maribel shook her head. "No, she will be at Rachel's house. They've had this planned for weeks. You can leave Wednesday morning after Santana goes to school."

Alma scoffed. "I will talk to Alejandro about this."

"No you will not because he is going to tell you the same. Santana is my daughter and if I say she can stay at a friend's house while I am away that is what is going to happen. I still am unsure why you came to stay with her at all this week. You never have before."  
Alma looked away. "I was concerned about her so I decided to come and check on her. After seeing them in the park last weekend I thought it was warranted."

Maribel looked up stunned. "Um, what did you see at the park that concerned you? They go there to run on the jogging trails."

Alma leaned in close and whispered to her. "They were laying all over each other with their legs in the air and so many scandalous things."

Maribel couldn't help it she just stared for a moment then burst out laughing hysterically. "They… with the leg… and the pushing…"

Alma scoffed and crossed her arms as her daughter in law continued to laugh. This is how the girls found them. Santana eyed her mother carefully. "Um… Mami, you ok over there?"

Maribel saw her and calmed a bit. "Come in the living room mija."

She guided Alma in and the girls followed. Once they were in the room Maribel turned to Santana. "Santi, can you and Rachel please show your abuela how you stretch before running?"

Santana looked at them questioningly. "Um, why?"

Maribel gave her the mom look. "Just do it and explain what it is you are doing and why for each stretch please. It's important.

Santana and Rachel shared a look than shrugged moving to some open floor space and proceeded to show her all the stretches and explained in detail what muscles they were stretching and why it was important. When they were done they stood back up and moved back over to their blondes and Santana looked to her mother.

Maribel looked to Alma. "Do you see? It's not what you were thinking. Do you honestly think that Santi would do something like that in a park where children could be around and see it? She has more respect for herself and the girls than that."

Alma looked down ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry Santi, I saw and I misunderstood and thought badly. Can you forgive me?"

Santana was still confused and looked to her mom. "Your abuela saw you in the park last week while you were stretching and got the wrong idea and thought that was something scandalous. That is why she decided to come and stay with you while your Papi and I are gone."

Now Santana was upset. "You actually think that I would disrespect myself, Brittany, and everyone around me in a public place like that? I… I don't even know what to say to that. Did you think that I would just strip right there and defile the park?"

Brittany put a calming hand on her back as Maribel took her hand. "Calm down Santana, it was a misunderstanding."

Santana pulled her hand away and glared at her abuela. "No it wasn't. You should have come and asked what we were up to or something and had a little more faith in me abuela. I don't… I don't know how to feel about this."

She pulled away and went out the back door. Brittany and the girls gave her a concerned look then Brittany followed Santana. Rachel grabbed and gently squeezed Maribel's hand. "We will check on her and calm her down. Let us know when dinner is ready."

Maribel squeezed back and watched as they went to check on Santana than looked to Alma again. "I think that maybe you shouldn't stay this week. Stay for dinner tonight but give her some time. You really upset her with this." With that she moved on to the kitchen.

Alma looked to the back door then shook her head in shame and followed Maribel to the kitchen.

The girls found her standing looking out over the yard. She leaned back into Brittany as she put her arms around her from behind. "I can't believe she would think so little of me."

Rachel moved to rub her arms. "San, some of those stretches do look bad."

Santana shook her head. "I know but she should have at least ask or something. I think half of it is that I was doing those things with Britt and not some boy. I know mom will probably not say anything bad, hell I'd be surprised if she hadn't guessed already but I will probably lose my abuela for being who I am. That right there just made me believe it more."

Brittany discreetly kissed her shoulder. "Well you know you always have us."

Santana smiled softly and soaked up her embrace and the soothing hands of Quinn and Rachel. "I know baby."

Maribel stuck her head out the door and smiled at them. "Dinner will be ready in an hour if you want to wash up and set the table in a bit." She moved toward them and took Santana in her arms. "Don't worry about her Santi. She is not staying with you while we are gone. I asked her not to, I don't want her upsetting you more. I still want you either to stay with Rachel or have Rachel stay here. Either way I would feel better."

Santana nodded into her chest. "Thank you Mami, I will."

Maribel kissed all the girls on the forehead and went back into the house. The rest of the night was uneventful. Alma apologized one last time hugging Santana before heading home. Quinn drove Brittany and Rachel home so Santana could talk to Maribel some more then went home herself. She took all of her and Brittany's bags in and hung the dresses.

Once she finished putting up all their things for prom she moved to the den and sat at the piano. She got out the music Santana printed for her and started playing. She practiced for an hour or so then turned sharply when her mom's voice startled her. "That is beautiful Quinn."

Quinn laid her hand to her heart. "Jeez mom, sneak up on a girl why don't you."

Judy chuckled softly. "It's not my fault that you were so engrossed in what you are doing that you didn't hear me call out to you. What is the name of that song? I don't think I've ever heard it before."

Quinn smiled. "You haven't ever heard it before. Rachel wrote it and I was just practicing the piano for it so I can play while we sing it tomorrow for the group. It's for the duet for Nationals."

Judy looked shocked and leaned over her to read the lyrics. "Wow, she's something special isn't she?"

Quinn hummed, "yea, she really is."

Judy watched her for a moment as completely immersed in the music in front of her. She smile softly and kissed her temple. "Well good luck with it tomorrow and don't stay up too late. You have school. Oh, and have Santana record me a CD with you guys sing it."

Quinn nodded. "Ok mom, I'll just be about a half hour more then I'm headed to be."

Judy smiled and headed up to bed. Quinn played for a while more until she felt that she had a good grasp of the song. She put everything away and headed up to bed. After texting Rachel to tell her good night she crawled into bed and snuggled in. Once Rachel text back she settled in and fell asleep quickly. Tomorrow would be long day and she really needed a good night's sleep.

A/N: Just wanted to take a moment to thank all my readers for your continued support. It means so much to me. You guys are awesome, thank you. More Faberry goodness and a little Brittana up next.

I know I said I was going to be updating all my stories one at a time but this one has a hold on me for the moment. I will come back to my others soon. Thank you for your patience, my little fairy is a fickle creature.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

The next morning they met at the school for their run. Rachel was very quiet and it worried them. After they showered they pulled her into the auditorium and sat with her. Quinn took her hand, "What's going on Rach?"

Rachel shrugged. "A lot of stuff I guess."

Santana shared a concerned look with Quinn then grabbed her other hand. "You want to tell us what's got you down."

Rachel sighed and looked away. "Not right now. I just… I don't know. Can I just keep it to myself for a bit? I promise to talk about it when I wrap my head around it all." She looked at them imploring them to let it go for now.

Quinn pulled her into her arms. "Ok Rach, you don't have to talk about it. Just know we're here if you need us." Santana and Britt voiced their agreement rubbing her back.

Rachel nodded into her chest. "I know, thank you."

The warning bell rang and they headed to class and the day was uneventful. They practiced during free period and lunch for the duet. Brittany ran to the lunchroom at one point for sandwiches and they ate right there in the choir room. Rachel was still in a funk and the song wasn't helping. It was making the song better as her emotions were coming blaringly through as she sang.

Quinn shared a look with Santana as the song ended again and she pulled Rachel into the office. "Do we need to do this later sweetheart or not at all? You don't have to do this at all if you don't want."

Rachel sighed and turned away. "It's not the song or not just the song. I want to sing it, I think it could help us win I just… I don't know…" She threw her hands up exasperated. "I'm just in a mood and I don't know how to talk about it yet or shake myself out of it."

She turned back to Quinn with tears in her eyes and Quinn rushed to pull her into her arms. "You don't have to talk about it Rach. I'm just worried about you. I care about you so much and I don't know how not to worry."

Rachel gave a watery chuckle. "You and Santana are both worry warts. I'm ok really. I just want to get through this. I think if I didn't know that there was an impending fight about this in the works I wouldn't be worried so much about it."

Quinn hugged her tighter. "You don't have to fight it alone. I'm here and the girls are here. We won't let you do this alone."

Rachel squeezed once more and leaned up to kiss her cheek before moving back. "Thank you," she took a deep breath grabbing Quinn's hand. "Let's get out there before San has a fit of worries. We have time to run through it at least two more times."

Quinn moved in and kissed her temple. "Ok let's go."

They went back into the room and Rachel went straight to Santana for a hug. Quinn and Britt wrapped around them for a moment then they got back to work.

The rest of the day flew by and before they knew it time for Glee practice was upon them. Rachel sat in the choir room between Quinn and Santana waiting for Shuester to arrive. Santana put her arm around her and whispered in her ear. "You got this Tiny and we got your back. Just relax and remember the important stuff." Rachel and Quinn gave her a curious look and she shrugged with a smirk. "Well, singing with your girls of course."

They all laughed and turned to the door as Shue entered the room. "Hey guys, we have a lot to do today. We still need a duet so we are going to have a brainstorming session like we did with the group number. Maybe as a group we can get it."

Rachel raised her hand. "Mr. Shue, I finished my duet this weekend. Santana and Quinn helped me with the music and we would like to sing it for the group today."

Shue looked shocked. "Ok but who's going to fill in for Finn?"

Rachel shook her head. "Quinn is singing it with me today and I think Noah would be the best male suited for it for competition. I will not be singing it with Finn."

Will gave her a placating look. "Now Rachel, you know he's the male lead and co-captain and should be singing this."

Rachel stood. "No, I don't know that. I wrote this song so I know who is best suited for it. I will not sing it with Finn."

Will shook his head. "It's not up to you to choose who sings for competitions Rachel."

Rachel just stood her ground. "I don't care who sings it to be honest with you, as long as it isn't him. And in this instance, it is partly my choice. It's my song and I do not have to share it with the group and allow it to be used if I don't want to. I don't even care if you have one of the other girls sing it with any of the boys but him."

Will was not happy. "You can't do this Rachel you are being unreasonable."

Quinn stood and put a hand on her back. "No, you are being unreasonable. It's her song and after what happened for you to try and force her to sing with him is wrong."

Kurt sat forward at this point and put a hand up. "Ok, ok, why don't you sing it and let us hear it before we have an argument about it. It might not even be suited for competition."

Santana huffed and pulled the girls down to the floor. "Please, this bitch is ready to be recorded and sold."

Will threw his hands up and sat. "Fine, let hear it."

Quinn gave her hand one last squeeze and leaned in to whisper. "Just look at me and we will get through this."

Rachel nodded as she moved to her mark. She watched as Quinn got set than they motioned Santana to start the track. Quinn winked and they started singing. Rachel never took her eyes off Quinn. This was the first time she had looked at her at all while singing this.

Face to face and heart to heart, we're so close yet so far apart  
I close my eyes, I look away, that's just because I'm not okay  
But I hold on, I stay strong  
Wondering if we still belong

She looks into Quinn's eye imploring her to hear and understand that this is all for her as the tempo increases and they push into the chorus.

Will we ever say the words we're feeling  
Reach down underneath and tear down all the walls?  
Will we ever have our happy ending  
Or will we forever only be pretending?  
Will we ah-ah, ah-always, ah-ah, ah-always  
Ah-ah, ah-always be pretending?

They bring the tempo back down for the next verse and Rachel's eyes plead for understanding as Quinn takes the lead with Rachel harmonizing underneath her.

How long do I fantasize, make believe that it's still alive?  
Imagine that I am good enough, and we can choose the ones we love  
But I hold on, I stay strong  
Wondering if we still belong

All Rachel has ever wanted to be chosen and as much as she wants Quinn she will not push her. She needs to be chosen.

Will we ever say the words we're feeling  
Reach down underneath and tear down all the walls?  
Will we ever have our happy ending  
Or will we forever only be pretending?  
Will we ah-ah, ah-always, ah-ah, ah-always  
Ah-ah, always be

Fully in the song Rachel moves around the piano as they get ready to transition into the next verse. She steps behind her with a hand on her shoulder moving around her as they sing about it being a shame.

Keeping secrets safe, every move we make  
Seems like no one's letting go  
And it's such a shame 'cause if you feel the same  
How am I supposed to know?

When they sing out the word 'know' at the end of the verse Rachel puts more into it then she ever had previously and really let's go as Santana and Brittany come in with back-up vocals.

Will we ever say the words we're feeling  
Reach down underneath and tear down all the walls?  
Will we ever have our happy ending  
Or will we forever only be pretending?

As the backup vocal mix with Quinn, Rachel deviates from the standard pace of the song and she blows them all away with her amazing abilities. This is the first time she has changed it and the girls are also pretty stunned at the raw power and sheer emotion pouring out of Rachel right now.

Will we ah-ah, ah-always, ah-ah, ah-always  
Ah-ah, ah-always be  
Will we ah-ah, ah-always, ah-ah, ah-always  
Ah-ah, ah-always be  
Will we ah-ah, ah-always, ah-ah, ah-always  
Ah-ah, ah-always be pretending

As they finish the song softly for a moment it's like it's only them. Then the room erupts in applause and they break eye contact for only a moment then look back to each other. Quinn stands and pulls Rachel into her and just holds on. Santana and Britt move in and wrap around them so they can have the moment without the others seeing it for what it was.

The emotions are very high at the moment so when Mr. Shue stand and speaks Rachel's body tenses. "That was amazing girls. I still think Finn would be best suited for that song though."

Before the girls can respond Puck stands. "Are you high Mr. Shue? That song should be sung just like that with Quinn and Rachel." There were murmurs of agreement throughout the room.

Will just shook his head. "We cannot take a love song to Nationals and have two girls singing it. The judges will not look upon it favorably."

Santana moved out of the embrace. "We figured you'd say that. That's why Rachel said for Puck to do it with her."

Rachel moved out of Quinn's arms and stood in front of them. "It's simple. Either any boy or girl other than Finn sings this song or we don't use it. I don't care if I sound like a diva or if you don't think I'm being a team player. I will not, under any circumstance, let that boy sing my song nor will I sing a duet with a boy that has physically assaulted me. It's your choice, use the song and he doesn't sing it or don't use it."

She took a deep breath looking back to the girls then locked eyes again with Will. "Why don't you think about it and let me know. I need to go home now."

And with that she was gone, Quinn hot on her heals. Santana watched them leave than turned back to Mr. Shue. "I don't understand why you're pushing her on this. It's her song."

Will folded his arms over his chest. "He's our male lead and should have the part."

Santana scoffed. "How many times have you told Rachel to be a team player and let one of the other girls have a competition piece? He is our lead for some unforeseen reason but that doesn't mean that the other boys can't sing just as well if not better. Why is it ok for me to take lead or Quinn and Sam but Puck isn't allowed to sing with Rachel?"

Puck moved forward. "Yea Mr. Shue, why can't I get a shot to sing? Rachel wrote the song for me to sing with her and I think we should do it even though I still think it would be better with Quinn."

Will held up his hands. "Ok, let see if we can write another duet in case she doesn't let us use hers. If we need to we will address this later."

Santana scoffed grabbing Brittany's hand and stormed out of the room. Puck just shook his head and Tina stepped up next to him. "Mr. Shue I think you are wrong here. If we find another song that Finn can sing I will not sing with him either."

Mercedes held up a hand. "Me either, this is wrong Mr. Shue. That song is off the hook and we need it."

Lauren scowled. "What they said."

Mr. Shue just stood there gaping and looked to the boys. Sam smirked. "Don't look at me, I ain't singing a love song with Finn."

They all chuckled and headed for the door. Mr. Shue just stood in shock and watched them leave unsure of what to do now.

Puck ran into Santana and Brittany in the parking lot. "Hey, where's my Jew Babe?"

Santana looked toward the exit sadly. "She took off, Quinn is following her."

Puck just shook his head. "Shue is an ass. Can you get me a copy of the music and the lyrics so I can practice? The rest of the girls refused to sing with Finn if we change the song. I have a feeling he won't have a choice but to use it and I want to be ready when we start rehearsing."

Santana reached into her bag and handed him an envelope with his name on it. "This is a copy of the music and a CD with Rachel singing for you to practice with. I'll let her know you have it." She looked toward the exit again and closed her bag. "I'm going to see if they went back to Tiny's house."

He nodded as they got in Santana's car and headed off. Santana had to drop Brittany off first than she headed to Rachel's. She was supposed to be staying there tonight anyway so she grabbed a bag from home than headed that way.

After leaving Rachel just drove unaware that Quinn was following. She ended up at the park and she ran toward the trails when she got there and didn't stop until she came to the pond they had found there. She sank to her knees and just cried in her hands.

Quinn had followed her from the school and into the park. She lost sight of her for a moment in the wooded area but she knew where she was headed. When she found her crying by the pond her heart broke. She sat beside her and pulled her into her lap holding her tight.

Rachel looked up as Quinn sat next to her then collapsed into her allowing her to pull in closer. There was so much going on in her mind right now she just didn't know where to start so she just cried until she couldn't cry any more than just lay in Quinn's comforting arm.

She had been so quiet for a time that it startled Quinn when she finally spoke. "I don't understand it Quinn."

Quinn looked down and wiped some of Rachel's tears. "Don't understand what sweetie?"

Rachel shrugged. "I just… what is it about be that makes people want to stay away from me and not care about my feelings? I mean first I have had to live with having gay parents. Don't get me wrong I love them but not my fault, I didn't ask for them but people singled me out for bullying because of it and I had no friends until this last year. Than Jessie makes omelets with my head and my own mother decides after knowing me few days that I wasn't good enough to keep around."

She took a shaky breath and looked up at Quinn. "Then everything with Finn and now Mr. Shue" Tears started falling harder again. "I mean, my own fathers are never around anymore and don't answer when I call them. I... I don't think their coming back. All the accounts they set up are closing all over town. I can only buy food at the grocery store, Breadsticks and the pizza place now. When I paid for my prom dress I had to pay with the cash I had for lunch because my card there was empty. Thank god the slushies stopped. I just don't understand what is so wrong with me that everybody leaves or treats me poorly. I'm so tired of being alone."

Quinn lifted her face to look in her eyes. "I don't know what is going on with your dads but I think it's time to talk to my mom or another adult about it. As far as everyone else, I don't know what their problem is because that's what it is Rachel. It's their problem not yours. There is nothing wrong with you honey. You are the sweetest, kindest, and most honest and loving person I know. You have the biggest heart and love so fiercely it takes my breath away."

She kissed her forehead and wiped her tears. "You have me and the girls. My mother adores you, as does Mama Lopez and Mama Peirce. You are not alone and as long as you allow me in your life, you never will be."

Quinn stared into her eyes for a long time then leaned forward and softly connected their lips. Rachel sighed into the kiss and just gently moved her lips along with Quinn's. After a few moments Quinn moved releasing the kiss and connected their foreheads just breathing each other in.

With one more gentle peck to her nose Quinn moved and wiped Rachel's remaining tears away. "It's getting dark. We need to get out of here and call Santana and my mom. My phone hasn't stopped vibrating since I sat down with you."

Rachel signed and hugged her closely once more then detached herself and stood. "Yea, Santana and Britt are probably worried sick and if they checked your house Mama Judy is probably worried too." She helped Quinn to her feet then looked into her eye apprehensively. "Quinn…?"

Quinn placed a finger on her lips stopping her from asking. "We will talk later when we have time. Right now mom could be calling the cops and Santana is probably looking all over town for us." She paused and kissed her forehead. "I promise we will talk later. Let's just get home before it gets too dark."

Rachel nodded and smiled slightly as Quinn took her hand and pulled her out of the woods and down the path. Quinn sent off a text to her mom Brittany and Santana that they were headed to her house and Rachel was with her. She told Santana to meet them there. When they made it to the cars she guided Rachel to her own. "We'll just leave yours here and pick it up tomorrow morning. You don't need to drive this upset and I would just feel better if you were with me right now."

Rachel just smiled softly and handed her the keys as Quinn helped her into the passenger seat. "Can you grab my bag and purse and lock it up please?"

"Of course."

Quinn gathered her things, got in the car and headed home. When they arrived at the house Santana and Judy came rushing out and Santana had Rachel in a bear hug in an instant. "Damn it Tiny don't do that to me."

At the tears she heard in Santana's voice Rachel held on tighter. "I'm sorry I just needed a minute and left my phone in the car."

Santana leaned back and looked at her incredulously. "A minute, Jesus Tiny it's been hours."

Rachel looked shocked over to Quinn who just shrugged. "I was trying to calm you and I don't realize how late it was until I told you it was getting dark."

Judy stepped up and pulled Rachel in. "Come on inside honey. I'm sure you and Quinn are starving. I saved dinner in the warmer for us then you can take a long bath if you like and stay here tonight. I washed all the clothes you had in Quinn's clothes basket so you have clothes for school tomorrow."

Rachel looked up and shook her head. "Santana is supposed to be staying at my house tonight."

Judy chuckled. "She's staying too silly. It will make me feel better to have you all here tonight. Just humor an old lady."

Rachel scoffed and let Judy pull her in the house. "Please, you are hardly and old lady. If I didn't know any better I would have thought you were Quinn's sister."

Judy just giggled. "Charmer, now stop flirting with me and let's go heat up your dinner."

Quinn dramatically grabbed at her heart. "Rachel... my mother?"

Rachel gaped. "I swear I wasn't Quinn."

At the absolutely scandalized look on her face the others lost it. Santana fell to the ground holding her stomach laughing so hard. "Oh my god Tiny, the look on your face… Oh god…"

Rachel huffed and crossed her arms. "I don't find this funny. But just as long as everyone knows that I wasn't flirting I can live with your poor sense of humor." She walked by Quinn and leaned in so only she heard her. "For future reference," she said in a husky voice an octave lower then Quinn was used to. "When I start flirting, you'll know it. You'll feel it."

With that she left a speechless and breathless Quinn in her wake and a Santana that was now dying at the look on Quinn's face. Judy just shook her head at them all and followed Rachel into the kitchen.

Santana finally calmed and went to stand by Quinn who was still looking in the direction Rachel went. "My god Q, what the hell did she say to you?"

Quinn shook her head trying to clear it and looked to Santana. "Um, I… I think… I'll keep that to myself."

Santana raised and eye brow to her and Quinn blushed prettily. "That good huh?" Quinn just nodded dumbly looking back to the doorway and Santana laughed some more. "Well, let's go get some food I'm starving. I was too worried to eat earlier."

They joined Judy and Rachel In the kitchen to eat. All talk of what happened during Glee left for another time. Later the girls curled up in Quinn's bed with a movie and fell asleep halfway through it. Rachel in Quinn's arms, her head on her chest and Santana wrapped around Rachel's back. This is how Judy found them when she came to check on them. She smile softly, took a picture and turned off the TV before shutting their door, leaving them to rest for the night.

A/N: Ok, now we know how the Gleeks feel about Rachel's song and her position on Finn not singing it. What will Finn do when he finds out? I didn't have the Brittana I wanted in this chapter but there is always the next.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

Homeroom the next day was tense. Rachel had been quiet again and was distracted during their morning run. If they hadn't stopped her she would have probably run forever. Now sitting waiting for the bell to ring the others were giving her space since she didn't seem herself. When Mr. Shuester came in nobody spoke to him accept Finn then everyone was rushing out after role was called and the bell rang.

The day was pretty uneventful until the last period of the day when Coach Sue came over the PA to announce the prom court nominees.

"Ok all you sloppy babies it's that nauseating time of junior prom again and I have the list for the prom court nominees. For prom king we have Rick Nelson, David Karoffsky, Noah Puckerman and Finn Hudson." She said the last name with confusion. "Who votes for these people? Whatever, for prom queen we have Missy Gunderson, Santana Lopez, Stacy Jensen and Quinn Fabray. That is all."

All at once the students started talking. Quinn and Santana were just staring at the speaker system in confusion then looked to each other. Santana shook her head. "How the hell did that happen? Neither of us even campaigned."

Quinn shrugged still shocked and Brittany smiled brightly. "It's because you are the two hottest girls in school and everyone knows it."

Rachel smiled and leaned into Quinn. "Well I guess you may get your wish after all."

Quinn shook her head. "It really doesn't matter anymore. It's just a stupid dollar store crown."

Santana sat back in her seat laid her arm across the back of Brittany's seat. "Well, if either of us wins and they crown Gigantor I swear heads will roll before either of us dance with that ass hat."

Quinn shuttered, "True that. He's not getting anywhere near us."

They continued talking until the final bell rang then since there was no Glee they headed home.

They next few day went by quickly with school work, practice for prom and Judy's constant worry and hovering. She decided that it was a good idea for Rachel and Santana to stay with her and Quinn while Mama Lopez was gone. This meant that Quinn and Rachel hadn't had a free moment to talk or spend any time with just them.

Come Thursday when Maribel returned she wanted both Rachel and Santana with her so they were at a standstill yet again. Friday passed quickly and it was Saturday and they were meeting at the spa that Maribel paid for them to get treated all girly for the prom.

They all were treated to mani-pedi's, seaweed wraps, massages, facials and mud baths. It was fabulous then they were taken to two different areas and split up per Maribel's instruction.

Santana gave the woman working with them a shocked look. "What? Why are you separating us?"

The attendant smile. "Mrs. Lopez instructed that after all of the pampering we were to separate the blondes from the brunettes to complete hair and make-up and that you were going to separate places to change into your dresses. I didn't understand it either but those are the instructions."

Santana was about to argue when Brittany bounced over to her. "Its fine, it will be nice to be surprised seeing you all done up later."

Santana calmed and smiled softly to her. "You're right. I guess you and Q are going together, just have fun."

Quinn and Brittany shared a squeal then head for the door. Quinn looked over her shoulder and looked eyes with Rachel for a moment then wink as they walked out.

Santana clapped her shoulder and laughed at the look on her face. Even though she and Quinn hadn't been able to talk privately they had been hardcore flirty all week, one upping each other at every pass. Santana and Brittany were getting a kick out of the whole thing and had a bet between them of when they thought one of the girls would crack and just devour the other.

Santana smiled and turned Rachel toward the remaining attendant. "Ok Tiny, it's just me and you. Let's get all gorgeous for prom."

An hour later found them leaving the salon and heading home after stopping by the flower shop. Once they arrived Maribel was waiting for them and ushered them upstairs to Santana's room where their dresses were. "Oh you girls look so beautiful. I can't wait to see the other girls. I love what they did with your hair."

Santana smiled. "Why did you separate us Mami?"

Maribel just smirked. "Every girl wants to make an entrance on prom night and I figured since you were dressing in different places the big reveal should be hair and make-up too." That is all she said as turned to unzip Santana and Rachel's garment bags.

The girls took their dresses out and changed together talking excitedly about the limo and everything for the night as Maribel took pictures. Once her dress and shoes were on Maribel stepped behind her and zipped Rachel up then turned to Santana. "Oh, by the way Santi, Papi wasn't sure if he was going to make it home in time, he got called in to emergency surgery earlier so he wanted me to tell you to just get in the limo and enjoy. The driver knows where to go and when you get to the restaurant, dinner for all of you is taken care of. Just order what you want and they know what to do."

The girls just looked up shocked and Santana turned so Rachel could zip her. "We're just going to Breadsticks Mami."

Maribel shook her head. "Uh, no you're not. He said its prom and you all deserve better then Breadsticks so he made you reservations at Bella Notta's. They have a large vegan and vegetarian menu so you will all be able to have a nice dinner."

Rachel worried her fingers. "I can't afford to pay him back for that Mami."

Maribel turned her and kissed her forehead tenderly. It always melted her heart when Rachel let her guard down and called her that. "Mija, he is paying for all four of you. Let an old man take care of his niῆas. It makes him feel useful."

Rachel deflated on a sigh. "Ok."

Santana turned and hugged Rachel then pulled her to the mirror. "Damn Tiny we look hot. Tongues will either wag or be swallowed."

Rachel and Maribel both laughed. "That you do Santi but watch your mouth." She posed them and took a hundred more pictures then packed her camera bag. "Ok, you girls are ready and you look absolutely amazing so I am going to leave while you put the finishing touches on and get to Judy's to take more pictures. Don't forget to grab the bags from the florist you have for the girls in the fridge."

Santana and Rachel shared a look as Maribel kissed them both and ran out to head to Judy's. Santana watched as the door closed. "Did she just say…? I didn't tell her we bought those for the girls."

Rachel shrugged. "I don't know but we need to hurry or we will be late picking them up and I saw the limo outside waiting when she opened the door."

With a shrug they finished up, grabbed their florist bags and headed out."

Brittany and Quinn arrived home about the same time as Rachel and Santana did. Judy and Susan Peirce meet them at the door and ushered them upstairs much like Maribel did the girls. They sat their own bags from the florist on the foyer table. The plan was for them all to set their bags down there so when Santana went to put Brittany's on, and vice versa, it was like she just picked it up to help her. Rachel and Quinn wanted each other to have one too.

Judy and Susan pulled their respective daughters into Quinn's room and to where they had set everything up for them to get ready.

Judy looked Quinn and Brittany up and down as she unzipped Quinn's garment bag. "Oh you girls look fabulous. Your hair is so gorgeous."

Susan teared up looking at them. "Oh you girls are getting so big. Next year it will be senior prom then graduation and we send you off."

Quinn just smiled. "But that's a ways away so let's not dwell on that now. We just got our makeup done so no tears."

Brittany kissed her mother's cheek. "I know mommy but I will always come home to visit and you can come to visit us all in New York."

Judy and Susan looked to her a little shocked. Then Judy looked to Quinn. "New York?"

Quinn shrugged and Brittany just bounced in place. "Yep, Quinn and Santana want to go to NYU. Rachel and I want to go to Julliard. Rachel is helping me study so I can get better grades and maybe get a dance scholarship."

Quinn smiled sheepishly looking at Judy. "I want to major in Business and minor in performing arts. Santana does too so we figured that NYU was a great place to do both." She looked to Brittany. "When did Rachel start tutoring you Britt?"

Brittany shrugged. "Last summer she was teaching me how to study and she's been helping me during study hall and stuff all year."

Susan beamed at Brittany. "She's been doing so well this year, all A's and B's. Rachel has done wonders in helping her."

Brittany smiled brightly. "She's says I'm not stupid I just learn different and she explains it so I can understand and it's super easy. She helps me with my singing too. That's why I got so much better this year."

Quinn smiled adoringly, falling a little more in love with the diva. Judy smiled at the look of adoration on Quinn's face and chuckled as she watched her shake it off. "Well, that sounds like a solid plan girls. I'm glad you are already thinking ahead."

Quinn and Brittany shared a look and turned speaking together. "Rachel."

They all laughed and Susan pulled out Brittany's shoes from her bag. "I have no doubt. That girl is the most driven and put together teen I have ever met when it comes to school and her future goals."

They talked more about what they wanted to study and why while they dressed and the moms took tons of pictures. Judy and Susan were impressed with the plan the girls seemed to have.

As they finished dressing the doorbell sounded. Judy and Susan went to answer. "That will be Maribel, which means the girls will not be far behind. Finish up and we will see you down there in a bit."

The girls squealed in excitement and move to finish up as the moms head to the door. Judy opened the door to a smiling Maribel and stepped aside to let her in motioning them to the living room. "Are Quinn and Brittany ready yet? I give the girls 15 minutes tops before they get here."

Susan sat next to her with a nudge to her shoulder. "Just about, they look outstanding. Santana and Rachel will swallow their tongues."

Maribel chuckle. "Then they will all be choking because Santi and Rach look amazing."

Judy sat back and smirks. "When do you think they will tell us that they are coupled off? I think it's going to be a dead giveaway tonight when they see each other."

Maribel looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure. Santana is such a private person and I'm sure she's scared. They all probably are. I don't think that Rachel and Quinn are actually a couple yet though. I overheard Santana talking to Rachel about how Quinn was probably scared."

Judy nodded. "I'm sure she was scared about being kicked out and that's my fault but I have been telling her about Rachel's daddy Leroy and how we were friends and how much I loved him. She knows I'm ok with it and that I adore Rachel so I'm not sure what is going on there."

Susan smiled. "Brittany has pretty much told me in not so many words but she will not come right out with it until Santana is 100% ready."

They were pulled from their conversation as the doorbell rang. They got up and Judy smirked as they headed toward the door. "Such chivalry, they know they can just come in."

The smile left her face as she opened the door and a look of awe replaced it. "My god girls, you look so beautiful."

They smiled as they came in and kissed each of the moms. Rachel took their bags and set them on the table by the other. "Thank you. I still can't believe I found this fabulous dress."

Judy and Maribel shared a look and a smile. They knew what the girls had done for Rachel and Brittany. Susan did not. "Oh I know. Brittany was so excited about her dress too. That Mrs. Harmon sure knows how to pick out the best from all they get in."

Rachel nods in agreement, "She is, I…" she loses her breath when Santana grabs her arm and they look up to see their girls descending the stairs. "My god in heaven." she whispers but it is heard by them all as she and Santana steady each other while they watched entranced.

Quinn was wearing a floor length dark purple gown that's sweetheart cut in the front and dipped dangerously low showing her back off beautifully. A whimper escaped Rachel's lips as she noticed for the first time the slit up the side that showed just a hint of leg as she walked. Her hair was in an updo with cascading ringlets framing her face.

Santana's hand flew to her chest and she whispered in desperation. "Ay mi corazon." Brittany was wearing an off the shoulder black gown that came mid-thigh and had a train in the back showing off almost every inch of her long muscular legs. Her hair was down in messy curls that framed her face and made her look straight out of a magazine. Maribel was sure there was drool on her daughters chin.

Quinn locked eyes with Rachel as she started down the stairs and her steps almost faltered. Rachel was breathtaking. She wore a grey floor length gown with a bit of a train that had a slit up the side that no matter how she moved her deceptively long leg was on display. The bodice hugged every curve moving up to draped over one shoulder leaving the other bare and showed almost as much back as Quinn's dress. Her hair was down in soft curls all around.

Brittany just beamed at Santana doing her best not to clap excitedly and bounce down the stairs. Santana was wearing a floor length gown as well. It was blood red with black accents and had a beautiful beaded bodice. The bead work was exquisite and went down over her hips and ass contouring to every curve than flowing straight down with a slight flare just past the knee to the floor. Her hair was half up half down held together with a tiny tiara and flowed down her back.

As they came to the bottom of the stairs Santana and Rachel moved forward to give them a hand down the last few steps, everything around them disappearing but the girls coming toward them. As Rachel took Quinn's hand she finally let go of the breath she had been holding. "You look… and the… with the… Oh Quinn." she said on a breathy sigh.

Quinn giggled and blushed beautifully. "Thank you Rach." She looked her over again smiling. "I have no word."

Rachel smiled and pulled her toward her as Santana grabbed Brittany. "I… Britt…"

Brittany chuckle, "You too San, so beautiful."

They all spoke in hushed tones but were heard none the less. The moms just watched with smiles while snapping picture after picture. All of the girls opted for evening gowns instead of traditional prom dresses and looked like they were plucked right off the red carpet.

Finally realizing they were not alone they all moved together and started complimenting each other's dresses and 'helping' with each other's corsages. Luckily each mom figured out what they were doing and was able to get the appropriate pictures of the girls exchanging flowers.

The moms posed them in every combination, all four, paired off and individually before finally letting them go. Maribel kissed Santana cheek. "Ok, if you leave now you will make your reservations in plenty of time. The limo will be with you all night. I expect a text when you get home to Rachel's and to see you all for lunch hear at noon."

Judy stepped forward and kissed them all followed by Susan. "What she said. We are all going to be here for lunch and we want to hear all about your night and see whatever pictures you take."

Judy handed them all some tickets. "These are prepaid tickets for pictures at prom. There are enough for three sets. I want one with the four of you and the other two you can do whatever way you want. Now go before you are late and take care of each other."

The girls all said their goodbyes and headed out the door. Let prom night begin.

A/N: Everyone is curious about Rachel's dads and I just wanted to tell you all that I will be revealing what is going on with them after Prom. The girls get to have their night then Rachel will find out why they have not been in contact. A great amount of drama is yet to come. Thank you for your continued support, dinner and prom coming up next.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

Rachel and Santana led the girls to the waiting limo holding the door on either side open for the blondes. Rachel held a hand out to Quinn to help steady her as she got in but pulled lightly to gain eye contact. "You look stunning Quinn."

Quinn blushed prettily. "Thank you, you look breathtaking Rach." She ducked in gracefully and sat opposite Santana and Brittany.

Rachel smile shyly and quickly followed her in. Santana knocked on the partition and the limo started moving. Brittany looks over to Rachel as she settles. "Rachie, that dress looks so good on you. If Santana wasn't mine…"

Santana chuckles at the blush Rachel is sporting. "Yea Tiny, you look damn good. Those idiots at school aren't going to know what hit them."

Rachel shrugged. "It doesn't matter. If they don't see me in my everyday stuff I don't care if they choose to see me like this."

Quinn rubbed her arm. "Those that matter see you every day."

Rachel looked deeply into her eyes for a moment then smiled and nodded. "See, that's all I need."

Santana smile softly. "I get it, doesn't mean I don't get to get a kick out of all the drool and dragging jaws. That goes for all four of us. We are hot."

Brittany leans in and kisses her cheek. "Yes we do baby but where are we going? Breadsticks is on the other side of town." She enquires as she looks out the window.

Santana shares a smile with Rachel them turns to Britt. "Papi got us reservations at Bella Notta's. He said we all deserved better then Breadsticks on Prom night."

Brittany and Quinn Gasped. "That's too expensive San."

Quinn nodded. "It's too much."

Santana held up a hand. "Rachel already had this argument with Mami and lost so just go with it and enjoy. Papi wanted to do this for all of us, so just let him."

They looked to Rachel incredulously and she just shrugged. "What? You try arguing with that lady, it doesn't work."

They all conceded her point and got quiet as they pulled into the restaurant parking lot. Santana and Rachel exited first and helped the girls out and escorted them through the doors.

Bella Notta is one of the finest restaurants in Lima and the girls were all in awe of it. Santana had been there a few times over the years but her Papi usually saved this place for just him and her Mami for special occasions. Quinn had been there once for her sister Fran's graduation. Rachel and Brittany had never stepped foot in the place.

Santana gave the name and they were escorted to their table, the patrons all watching them walk by. As they sat the waiter came and took there drink orders then came back for their orders.

Once they all had ordered and they were settled the girls just talked like they always did. They totally tuned out the rest of the world. That is until Stacy Jensen came to their table on her way out.

"Ah, if it isn't Lopez, Fabray, Pierce and Man hands out for prom."

Santana growled. "Watch it Jensen. You don't want to mess with me, leave her alone."

Stacy just laughed. "Whatever Lopez, what are you going to do other than flap your jaws and flip your hair? Besides, once I win prom queen it will be final."

Quinn just shook her head. "I don't know what you think that will accomplish but you need to back off Rachel before I make your school life a living hell."

Stacy scoffed. "Oh get over yourself, once I win queen and now that I'm captain I will rule the school."

Santana and Quinn shared a look before dying laughing at her. "Oh… oh god that's good." Quinn was the only one to talk due to Santana not being able to breath. "You have got to be kidding me. We aren't even cheerios anymore and we still rule that school. If you think a plastic crown will change that you are delusional."

Santana finally calmed enough to speak. "The only reason you are even up for queen is because you and Missy were the only ones to campaign. Quinn and I didn't and we were still nominated. That should tell you something. Now, move along we are trying to enjoy our night."

Stacy sneered at her. "You'll see. You're going to be sorry once I win. You two and your little girlfriends will be sorry. Just you wait and see." With that she stormed out of the restaurant Rick Nelson following close behind.

Santana moved to follow but Brittany stopped her. "No San, its prom. Just let her go."

Santana deflated and sat back. "You're right baby, I'm sorry."

Brittany looked to Santana and Quinn. "No fighting tonight. We just want a fun night with you two and the rest of our friends singing and dancing. Stacy and the others don't matter."

Rachel nodded in agreement. "You know we don't like violence so please…"

Santana and Quinn both looked contrite and Quinn rubbed Rachel's arm. "Ok Rach, we'll just have a fun night and not worry about Jensen or her goons."

Brittany and Rachel squealed quietly and thanked them than they all settled as their food was brought and they shared a wonderful meal. Once they finished their dinner and desert they headed to the school. They arrived about thirty minutes late due to Brittany wanting desert. She and Rachel decided they wanted to make an entrance after the others all arrived. They had already received several texts from the other Gleeks when they hadn't been seen at Breadsticks.

They arrived and again Rachel and Santana helped the girls out and escorted them in. All of them sticking close together as they had planned. They turned heads of everyone still loitering outside as they strode into the gym heads held high. Puck was the first to see them. His jaw hit the floor as he nudged Sam and Mike next to him.

The other glee girls rushed away from the boys and surrounded them. Tina was beaming. "Oh my god you all look like movie stars but Rachel," She fanned herself, "sweetie, oh my."

Mercedes smirked. "Yea what smurf shop did you find that dress Rachel?"

Rachel opened her mouth to answer but Quinn beat her too it. "Don't hate Cedes, just cause you could only pull that dress off in your dreams. She looks stunning, leave it at that."

Mercedes looked taken aback and Lauren just laughed. "Come one we gotta get set for our song." She pulled Mercedes and Tina away from the girls.

Puck and the boys walked up to them. "One of you girls want to dance with the Puckzilla, the others can dance with my boys?"

Santana scoffed and smile as Tina started singing Paparazzi. She grabbed Brittany pulling her on the dance floor. "Maybe later boys but this is our Jam."

Rachel and Quinn just wave over their shoulders as they followed them to the dance floor.

Puck sighed. "That is so not fair, so much hotness."

Sam fanned himself. "I have to dance with all of them at least once."

Artie rolled up next to them. "Do you think Britt will dance with me?"

Mike scoffed. "I doubt it she hasn't so much as looked at you since you were an ass and called her stupid."

Puck pushed him toward the back as Sam followed. "Yea bro not cool. Let's go get set, we sing after the girls."

Rachel and the girls' dance all night as they took turns with the others singing. All of the other Gleeks moved in and out of their group. Kurt and his boyfriend Blaine were the last to dance with them before it was Quinn's turn to sing her solo. They had a system down for the dances. They all danced together in three's or four's that way no one was the wiser and as Quinn moved to the stage Rachel moved into Santana and Brittany.

Rachel nudged Brittany. "Is it fast or slow Britt do you know?"

Brittany pulled her close to her right while pulling Santana into her left side. "It's slow, just put your head on my shoulder and I will keep us where you can see Q the whole time."

Santana wrapped around them both, leaning into Brittany just slightly more. "She wouldn't let any of us hear it; we just know it's slow.

Rachel nodded as the music started and she looked up a little shocked at the song choice. Brittany just pulled her back and pushed her head down.

She came out and took her place at the piano and settled in as she started singing. Rachel was in awe and lost herself in Quinn's voice.

I never meant to be the one to let you down  
If anything, I thought I saw myself going first  
I didn't know how to stick around  
How to see anybody but me be getting hurt

I keep remembering the summer night  
And the conversation breaking up the mood  
I didn't want to tell you you were right  
Like the season changing, oh, I felt it too

Rachel watched entranced as she sang and played but her breath caught as she locked eyes with her.

Does anybody know  
How to hold my heart  
How to hold my heart?  
'Cause I don't wanna let go  
Let go, let go too soon

I want to tell you so  
Before the sun goes dark  
How to hold my heart  
'Cause I don't wanna let go  
Let go, let go of you

I'm not the kind to try to tell you lies  
But the truth is you've been hiding from it too  
I see it all sneaking in behind your eyes  
Saying things no words could ever do

Mercedes and Tina came in singing back up as she poured her heart out into the song, never once taking her eyes off Rachel.

Does anybody know  
How to hold my heart  
How to hold my heart?  
'Cause I don't wanna let go  
Let go, let go too soon

I want to tell you so  
Before the sun goes dark  
How to hold my heart  
'Cause I don't wanna let go  
Let go, let go of you.

Tears fell from both Rachel and Quinn's eyes as she asked if anyone was listening, Rachel's heart breaking at the shear vulnerability she saw in Quinn's.

Is anybody listening?  
'Cause I'm crying  
Is anybody listening?

Does anybody know  
How to hold my heart  
How to hold my heart?  
'Cause I don't wanna let go  
Let go, let go too soon

I want to tell you so  
Before the sun goes dark  
How to hold my heart  
'Cause I don't wanna let go  
Let go, let go of you

Does anybody know  
How to hold my heart  
How to hold my heart?  
'Cause I don't wanna let go  
Let go, let go too soon

I want to tell you so  
Before the sun goes dark  
How to hold my heart  
'Cause I don't wanna let go, let go, let go  
I don't wanna let go, let go of you  
I don't wanna let go

Rachel and the girls moved to the stage to intercept her as Blaine took the stage having asked if he could jam with them. Brittany and Tina were set to sing with him. They were playing a recorded song as they set the stage for them.

Rachel pulled Quinn into a hug "That was beautiful Quinn."

Quinn just burrowed into her, still very emotional from singing that song. "Thank you."

Santana pulled them away from the side of the stage. "Let's grab a drink before the next song."

They nodded and followed her to the punch bowl where Coach Sue was keeping watch. Santana smirked and laughed lightly. "Has anyone had the balls to even try this year coach?"

Coach just scoffed. "Not yet but I know they will, someone always does."

Quinn grabbed a cup before moving to walk off. "Well coach keep an eye out for Jensen, we overheard something during dinner tonight about the punch at prom. Just so you know."

Coach's eyes zeroed in on her. "Thanks, she won't succeed."

Quinn nodded and pulled the girls away. Laughing Santana pushed her playfully. "You know she's going to watch her like a hawk now and the girl will be miserable all night."

Quinn just smirked. "She shouldn't have bothered us during dinner."

They just laughed some more and Rachel just shook her head. "What am I going to do with you two?"

Santana threw and arm around her. "Love us, keep us and call us yours?"

Quinn nodded enthusiastically and Rachel just chuckled. "I suppose that will have to do."

They were about to move to the dance floor when Ryk from the band, Sam and Puck came over. Ryk stood in front of Rachel. "Um, I was just wondering if we could have the dance you promised me now."

Rachel smiled and looked to the girls locking eyes with Quinn. "I promised him a month ago to save him a dance. Is that ok?"

Quinn just shrugged not at all happy about this turn of events and Santana smirked at her reaction. "Its fine Tiny, I suppose I should dance with Puck for this one since I too promised him one."

Sam moved to Quinn. "How 'bout it Quinn, you and me for one dance?"

Quinn nodded and Rachel scowls as Blaine started singing and they moved to the dance floor. In the distance all night watching it all was Finn. As the group moved to the dance floor he pulled his date Missy Gunderson along with him to dance where he could still watch. He didn't like seeing Rachel with Ryk or Quinn with Sam.

Blaine and the girls were killing the song and they were all dancing and having a good time. Quinn kept an eye on Ryk and Rachel. She didn't like seeing them laugh and dance together. She was jealous and she wasn't afraid to show it at this point.

Quinn looked like she was going to rip is head off as he leaned into say something in Rachel's ear and she threw her head back laughing loudly. If you weren't watching closely it looked like he was kissing her neck. Luckily Quinn was paying attention.

Sam leaned in and nudged her. "Hey, you ok? Did Ryk do something to piss you off other than dancing with Rachel?"

Quinn looked up at him sharply. "I… um… how..?"

Sam just chuckled. "I'm sorry to say it but anyone who takes five minutes to pay attention can see that you and Rachel are into each other. I wouldn't worry about Ryk. Rachel is totally into you too."

Quinn looked back to Rachel. "I'm I that transparent?"

Sam shrugged, "only to those who know you enough to pay attention. I think the only ones in glee that don't see it are Kurt, Mercedes, Artie and Lauren oh, and Finn of course."

Quinn just nodded and watched as Ryk leaned in again. Before she could think to even try and cut in or something Finn came up and pulled Ryk away from Rachel. "Hey, keep it PG."

Ryk looked to Rachel confused than back to Finn. "Um, we were. We didn't do anything."

Finn pushed him to the side and farther away from Rachel but due to his position he didn't see Quinn move closer to Rachel and Santana moving to their side as well. "I'm not blind dumbass. I saw you kissing on her."

Ryk looked to Rachel again still confused. "I wasn't. I wouldn't, Rachel is just my friend."

Finn went to push him again but Puck and Sam moved in front of Ryk pushing him back. "Come on Finn, you're taking this too far. For one dude they weren't doing anything and two Rachel is not your concern bro." Puck held up a placating hand trying to calm him and move him away from the girls.

Finn shook his head. "This is bullshit Puck, back off before I kick your ass then I move on to him."

Rachel was fuming. "You don't get to dictated who I dance with Finn Hudson."

Finn rounded on her. "You shouldn't let just anybody kiss all over you."

Rachel pushed forward out of Quinn and Santana's hold but they followed closely behind. "I will dance with and let whomever I want kiss me. Not that he was because he wasn't but it's not your concern either way."

Finn tried to rush her but was pushed back. "You're just a slut Rachel, first Jesse then Puck and now Ryk. Where does it stop?"

Rachel recoiled like she'd been slapped and in that same instant Finn fell back as he was slapped hard. Quinn was fuming. "Don't you dare speak to her that way you son of a bitch. She told you she didn't sleep with Jesse and Puck was just a damn kiss. She was just dancing with Ryk you idiot."

Finn regained his bearings. "You're delusional if you believe that. Why are do you even care? What, do you want your ride next? Please bitch she's too good for you. You could never be good enough for her. She's mine!"

He pushed through but came face to face with Coach Sue as Sam and Puck pulled him back yet again. "That's enough doughboy you're out of here."

Finn stopped struggling. "I didn't do anything, we were just talking. Quinn is the one who hit me."

Sue looked to Quinn then to everyone else. "Did anyone see this?" They all shook their heads and she smirked to Finn. "No one saw the alleged incident, but I did see you trying to grab the girls when you were told to stay away from them and I have witnesses that saw you pushing and threatening the drummer kid. You're out of here."

Finn looked to his brother for help but Kurt just looked away with disgust. Missy pulled back on his arm "He can't leave we're up for prom king and queen."

Sue pulled him further away. "Too bad sister, he should have thought of that before causing a scene." She continued to pull him out of the gym and they all just looked to the girls.

They just stood there stunned then Quinn turned and ran off. Rachel called after her and followed.

At that moment the music all stopped and Figgins called the prom court nominees to the stage. Santana moved to follow the girls but she was pushed to the stage by Puck. "We have to go up there San. My Jew berry will take care of Q."

Santana deflated and allowed him to pull her up with him. She stood watching the door for her friends instead of paying attention to Figgins.

Quinn ran to the bathroom with Rachel hot on her heels. "Quinn stop, please."

Quinn turned as she came fully into the bathroom. "I can't do this, I'm so sorry Rachel."

Rachel just stood stunned watching as tears flowed down Quinn's face. "Can't do what sweetheart?"

Quinn shook her head violently. "That, don't call me that. I can't be that for you. I can't."

Rachel was taken aback. "What do you mean Quinn?"

Quinn buried her face in her hands. "I can't be your sweetheart. You are worth so much more and deserve so much more than me. I don't deserve you; you can do better than me."

Rachel moved forward and pulled her hands away to cup her face. "What are you talking about? You can't listen to Finn. He's wrong, you are all I need."

Quinn shook her head. "But he's right. I've always known it. Since freshman year I've known it. No, you deserve better Rachel."

Rachel leaned in and kissed her nose. "No, he is wrong Quinn. You are what I want and I deserve to have what I want. So do you."

"I'll just hold you back. I can't be the reason you don't get your dreams Rach. Eventually you will hate me for it and I can't live with that."

Rachel just looked at her shocked. "Why would you think that you would hold me back? I can have a relationship and a career too."

Quinn just sighed. "I'll just hold you back. I'm never getting out of this place. I doubt that I'll get into school in New York the way you and the girls planned. I'm a born and bread house wife. It's all I'm meant to be, just someone's arm candy."

Rachel smirked. "Well then I guess I'll have to settle for you being my arm candy and house wife."

Quinn slapped her playfully. "Stop, I'm being serious."

She wiped away some tears. "I was too." She chuckled and caressed her cheek. "I don't know why you think that you can't be more than a house wife or arm candy. You are one of the smartest people I know. You, Santana and I have competed for the top spot in our class since we were little. At the rate we are going we are destined to be Valedictorian with two salutatorians. We're all destined for greatness Quinn. I just want to be there beside you to see it when you achieve it. I want you beside me to see me become all I hope to be."

Quinn looked down. "I don't know if I can do it and I don't want to drag you down."

Rachel pulled her face up to look in her eyes. "You can do it. I know you can. Please don't let something that asshole said ruin every plan we've made this past month. Please baby."

Rachel moved in slowly, so close to her lips and Quinn was breathless already. "but what if…"

Rachel put her finger against her lips. "Shut up Quinn." She slid their lips gently together kissing her chastely. Quinn's body deflated and she sighed into the kiss.

Pulling apart she rested their foreheads together. "Forget everything else but that I love you Quinn. I love you and I want be with you." She took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. "Will you please do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

A/N: That's it for now. Up next the rest of prom and the weekend after, still lots to come.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

Rachel put her finger against her lips. "Shut up Quinn." She slid their lips gently together kissing her chastely. Quinn's body deflated and she sighed into the kiss.

Pulling apart she rested their foreheads together. "Forget everything else but that I love you Quinn. I love you and I want be with you." She took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. "Will you please do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

Quinn sobbed out as she threw her arms around Rachel. "Yes, god yes I love you too, but what if..."

Rachel pulled her closer by her hip causing her to stop talking as well as breathing. "Shhh," she breathed into her, "no more if's, just us." She closed the remaining distance and took her lips gently.

Quinn softly moaned into her mouth than tilted her head to deepen the kiss. She ran her tongue over Rachel's bottom lip, caressing it until Rachel opened on a gasp and she invaded her mouth. Rachel pulled her as close as possible as she pushed her into the wall behind her molding their bodies together.

Quinn pulled out of the kiss on a gasp of her own totally losing her breath. "Jesus Rach."

Rachel kissed her pulse point gently sending shivers up Quinn's spine. "I know." she whispered as she looked up into her eyes.

Quinn sighed contently seeing the love reflecting back at her and leaned in capturing her lips once more. Hands started roaming as the kiss turned feverish but they were brought to a screeching halt as Santana and Brittany came rushing in the room.

Santana stopped in her tracks seeing them. "Oh shit, fuck I am so sorry."

Rachel and Quinn giggled and pulled slightly away from each other to face them. Santana was turning around to leave but Brittany pushed her back. "I'm sorry we stopped your sweet lady kisses but we really need to get back in there."

The worry in her eyes brought them forward and Rachel grasped her hand. "What's going on?"

Santana sighed. "It's Porcelain. The fucking student body wrote him into the ballot and they assholes named him prom Queen."

Rachel and Quinn gasped. "Oh my god, is he ok?"

Santana shrugged. "I don't know really, he's a mess. We saw him in the hall on the way here. He's about to go back out there and let them crown him just to spite them all."

Quinn was shocked. "Who was king?"

"Karoffsky, I don't think he would actually hurt him but I think we need to get out there." Santana sighed not liking this shit at all.

Brittany moved over and hugged Quinn. "Are you ok now Q? I got your make up bag from your locker so we can clean you up."

Quinn smiled. "I'm ok B; I just needed some sense knocked into me."

Santana let out a bark of laughter. "Or kissed into you is more like it."

Quinn blushed and turned back to Brittany for help with her wrecked face. Santana pulled out some lip gloss and powder from her clutch and helped Rachel fix her face as well. Once they finished they rushed out and back into the gym just in time for Kurt to be crowned.

They laughed and cheered as he said 'eat your heart out Kate Middleton.' Karaffsky didn't physically hurt him but he did leave him standing alone in the middle of the floor for the King and Queen's dance. They smiled as Blaine stepped in and took his hand pulling him into his arms to dance.

As Tina sang Greatest Day by Take That the girls shared a look and Quinn pulled Rachel to the dance floor and into her arms.

Rachel looked at her in shock. "What are you doing?"

Quinn just smiled. "Supporting our friend and dancing with my girlfriend."

Rachel melted into her and mouthed. 'I love you' before Quinn pulled her closer and held her tight.

Santana watched Quinn pull Rachel to the dance floor and decided to do the same so she took Brittany's hand. "Want to dance baby?"

She looked stunned for a moment then nodded vigorously. "I'd love to San."

As Santana led her to the dance floor she and Rachel locked eyes and shared a smile. The next thing they knew Puck and Sam were on the dance floor dancing together then Mike and Artie followed. Mercedes and Lauren brought their mics with them so they could continue to sing back up but danced together as well.

Kurt looked around noticing when Quinn and Rachel joined them and just beamed as the others followed them out as well.

Blaine pulled him closer and whispered in his ear. "See, everything is ok." Kurt nodded and buried his face in Blaine's neck.

Quinn noticed the others joining and pouted. Rachel tapped the lip with her finger playfully. "Hey, what's that for?"

Quinn just sighed. "Now we have to come out again. Everyone is going to think we just did it for Kurt."

Rachel smiled. "Well, we can fix that right now if you want."

Quinn looked up hopefully. "We can, how?"

Rachel blushed and leaned into her ear. "I can kiss you right here on this dance floor and leave no doubt."

Quinn stopped breathing. "Are… are you sure you'd be comfortable with that? I know you aren't usually ok with public displays of affection."

Rachel just laughed. "I would send out a skywriter and scream from the roof tops that I love you right before make out with you in town square. I've never liked public displays before because of the person I was dating. I didn't like many displays public or otherwise."

Quinn just giggled understanding. She had felt the same way while dating the boys she had. "Then I'm ok with you kissing me right here."

Rachel smiled and looked to Santana and Brittany wrapped up in each other. "Should we warn them?"

Quinn followed her line of sight and locked eyes with Santana. She smirked at her friend and looked back to Rachel. "I think they'll figure it out."

Rachel just smiled as they met each other halfway and shared a tender, loving kiss. They heard gasps around them but ignored them as they rested their foreheads together and just drowned in each other's eyes.

Santana was floored, "Jesus I can't believe they just did that here after what these people did to Kurt tonight."

Brittany just watched them longingly. "They don't care. They finally told each other and they just don't care. They'll keep each other safe. It's ok baby."

Santana watched her face as she spoke and realized she wasn't being fair to her. She knew Brittany wanted the world to know they were together but she would wait forever if she had to. Just to make her happy. In that moment she made the choice to just let go and love her the way she should have been this whole time.

She grasped Brittany's chin lightly and turned her to look in her eyes speaking softly. "I love you Britt."

Brittany smile brightly. "I love you too San."

Santana used the hand still holding her chin and pulled her into a gently kiss. When she pulled back she smiled at Brittany's shocked face. "It's time baby. I love you and I don't care who knows it. We just have to find a way to make sure you stay safe."

Brittany's shock turned into sheer joy as she flung herself against Santana and kissing her passionately. "I love you so much."

Rachel caught sight of Santana and Brittany kissing and nudged Quinn. "Look."

Quinn turned and smiled. "Good, we'll help her keep Britt safe. You'll be with us so I'm not too worried about you."

Rachel smiled indulgently. "I've been dealing with homophobes my whole life. I assure you I can take care of myself."

She just shook her head. "Nope, not taking that chance, please stay close to me at school. Please sweetie."

Rachel chuckled as she pressed a little closer. "You don't have to beg me to keep me close Quinn. Although, it does have a certain appeal." she husked it in her ear and her smile grew as Quinn shuddered in her arms.

Taking a deep breath Quinn just tightened her arms around her. "That's good to know."

Smiling they finished the dance and were pulled to the side by the rest of the group and were surrounded. Puck moved in close and looked out over the crowd as they started some prerecorded music while resetting the stage. "Ok, you six need to stay close to us for the rest of the night. We will talk more about Monday later, but Britt is in all my classes so I will keep her close to me. Sam will be with us too. Mike will keep an eye on the rest of you girls. Lauren, Tina and Mercedes already got Kurt."

Quinn just looked at him shocked. "What are you talking about?"

Puck just shrugged. "The guys and I have been planning this forever. We need to keep you safe since you just came out. We will not drop the ball again like we did with Kurt. We protect him now and we will protect you too."

They all just looked at him stunned and Santana moved forward grasping his face between her hands. She pulled him down and kissed his forehead tenderly. "Thank you." She was so relieved that the boys would help watch Brittany.

Puck just blushed and looked toward the stage clearing his throat. "I think we have 3 songs left and it's my turn to sing my last song." He turned and walked off quickly.

Sam came up and nudged her. "He's been planning since you sang Landslide."

Santana looked up to him stunned. "Really?"

Mike shrugged. "He loves all you girls, he just has a funny way of showing it sometimes."

Moving to the girls she melted back into Brittany. "Well people, I'm going to take my girl and my photo ticket and get a prom pic."

Quinn grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled her closer. "Let's get ours too and then the group one mom wants."

They all nodded and headed off coming back right as Puck was taking the stage. He had his guitar and locked his gaze on Lauren and started singing I've Been Waiting For a Girl Like You.

All the other couples made their way to the dance floor, staying close together. The last two glee sung songs were upbeat and they all danced. The final song was Endless Love by the original artist because it was the prom theme.

Once again they paired off and Quinn pulled Rachel to her. "Thank you."

Rachel looked up confused. "For what?"

"For making our prom simply the most perfect night. I love you."

"You're welcome and I love you too but you made my night just as perfect. You said yes and kissed me on the dance floor."

Quinn chuckled, "Well, I guess we will call it a tie then. Because that couldn't have happened without you being braver then I am and asking me to be your girlfriend."

Rachel kissed her lightly and pulled her closer. "Fine a tie, now hold me until this song ends then I want to go home."

Quinn tightened her arms and did as she asked. Once the song ended Puck and the others all walked with them to their limo. Quinn grasped his hand before they got in. "Thank you." She looked to all the others and smiled then let Rachel help her into the car.

Santana leaned in and kissed Puck, Sam and Mike on the cheek then helped Brittany in the car. "Make sure Porcelain and Warbles get to their car please."

Puck nodded. "We're on it." Santana smiled at him as she got in to the limo.

The ride to the house was quiet as they all just sat in the arms of their loves and enjoyed the ride. When they made it to Rachel's they thanked the driver and headed upstairs exhausted. All the girls sent off texts letting the moms know they made it home then split off after saying goodnight. Santana and Brittany to the guest room Quinn and Rachel to her room.

Rachel came out of her bathroom changed for bed to find Quinn dressed for bed too but standing beside it just looking at it. Rachel came up and wrapped her arms around her from behind. "You ok?"

Quinn leaned back into her. "Yes, I was just thinking."

"What about, you're not second guessing us again are you?"

Quinn turned in her arms, "God no, I love you so much Rachel. I'm done being afraid, I just want you."

Rachel deflated letting out the breath she had been holding. "Thank god." She leaned in and kissed her softly. "Is something bothering you baby. What's on your mind?"

"Oh just everything, I want to tell mom tomorrow. I'm not ashamed of you and I will not hide us. I honestly don't think it will be a problem. She has told me before she doesn't care who I love so let's just pray she meant it." She kissed Rachel's cheek and climbed over to her side of the bed settling in.

Rachel followed, "I don't think she will either. Let's hope its ok because I know how much your mom means to you and she has come to mean so much to me too. However, if things go bad you know you can just come here with me right?"

Quinn pulled her close and tucked Rachel's head into her shoulder. "I know I can. Just to be on the safe side I may pack a bag but I don't think I'll need it."

Rachel kissed her neck softly. "Do you want me there when you tell her?"

"I do but I think I need to do this alone with you in the house but in a different room maybe?"

"That's fine, whatever you need."

They lay there for a little while longer and were almost asleep when Quinn spoke again. "Did you decide about Sunday?"

Rachel yawned leaning up on her elbow. "I don't know if it would be appropriate. That's your time to spend with Beth. I don't want to intrude."

Shelby and Quinn agreed at Beth's birth that they would have an open adoption where Beth was able to know Quinn. She was able to see her once a month for a whole day. Shelby had talked to Quinn and asked her to invite Rachel.

Quinn sighed and pulled her down kissing her lightly. "I told you already you are not intruding. You were invited. Shelby wants to talk to you."

Rachel lay back into her. "I'm afraid to go."

"Why?"

"Because what if I go and get my hopes up again and she just asks me not to come back again? I don't think I can take that rejection from her again."

Quinn rubbed soothing circles on her back. "I don't think she would do that again Rach. She wouldn't have asked you to come to push you away again."

Quinn and Shelby had had a long talk about Rachel before Quinn agreed to invite her. Quinn wanted to make sure that she was not going to hurt her again. Shelby realized her mistake after she had been with Beth for less than a month but didn't know how to talk to Rachel again.

Rachel leaned up for once last kiss than fully settled into her. "Ok, fine I'll go but you have to stay with me."

Smiling she pulled her in and kissed the top of her head. "Ok, good. I'll be right there with you. I think this will be a good thing."

Rachel hummed into her and they both fell asleep fairly quickly after that. The weekend looked to be long and very emotional. Tomorrow they talked to Judy. Sunday they visited Beth and Shelby and hopefully all goes well.

A/N: Well there it is they're finally a couple. I just wanted to take a moment and thank all my readers. I have had and outstanding outpour of reviews and PMs. I also just recently hit over 500 follows and favorites for this story. That is so awesome to me and I love that my story is so well received. Thank you all so much for joining me on this journey. The support and love you have shown for my story keeps me going. Drama is about to unfold as we find out in the next chapter where he daddies Berry have been. Look for it in a day or so.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

Rachel opened her eyes and looked at the clock, 8:32. She shook her head lightly trying to shake off the remains of sleep as she tried to roll over but the arm around her prevented her from moving. She smiled looking back at her girlfriend. She almost squealed at the thought of it. Finally Quinn was hers. Never in a million years did she ever think it could happen but here they are.

As she rubbed her arm gently Quinn lightened her grip and Rachel was able to turn and face her. Once she was turned she found she was in perfect position to do something she had wanted to do since the first morning they woke up together. She started kissing Quinn's neck and nipping lightly at her pulse point.

Quinn moaned quietly in her sleep and tightened her arms around her. Rachel smiled at the sound and ran her lips up to her earlobe nibbling gently. "Quinn… baby wake up."

Quinn groaned and shifted them so Rachel was on her back and she was snuggled into her. "I don't want to. Just hold me." She grumbled into her neck.

Rachel chuckled and held her tight. "I could hold you forever but we need to get up and around. San and Britt will be up any minute wanting to go to the park for our run since we are not running tomorrow."

She started kissing along Rachel's neck and up her jaw. "I want to stay here with you. Can't we just stay in bed all day and snuggle with movies?"

Rachel was having a hard time coming up with a good argument with Quinn's lips on her neck. "Uh… Your mom… and Mami… lunch at noon."

Before she could protest anymore Quinn groaned into her neck when a knock sounded on the door. "Time to get up bitches, we gotta get a run in and breakfast. Need ta meet up with the mom's at noon."

Rachel chuckled at Quinn's groans. "We'll be down in a bit San." She called out as she lifted Quinn's face to look into her eyes. "Hi."

"Good morning." Quinn smiled leaning forward to capture her lips in a kiss that started sweet and quickly morphed into sensual.

Rachel kissed her back enthusiastically then pulled back panting when air became necessary. "Ok, we need to get up."

Quinn kissed her once more then crawled out of bed grumbling, "Fine," as she made her way into the bathroom.

Rachel moved to her drawers and pulled out her running gear and went into the closet for a hoodie. When she came back into the room she was dress in shorts, her sports bra, and shoes. She held the hoody in her hand ready to put on when they went outside if it was needed.

Quinn came out of the bathroom dressed similarly and stopped dead in her tracks. "God that's not fair." She whined.

Rachel looked up confused. "What's not fair?"

Quinn walked over, pulled her into her arms and pouted. "You looking like that now that I can touch but we have to leave so I can't." She said this as she ran her hand up and down Rachel's bare torso.

Rachel suppressed a shudder as she wrapped her arms around Quinn's neck. "Well I guess I'll just have to make it up to you later."

Grinning she kissed her softly. "And just how to you plan on doing that?"

Rachel shrugged moving out of her embrace and into the bathroom calling over her shoulder. "I guess you'll have to wait and see." With that she closed the door and Quinn just smiled after her.

Two hours later found them finishing their stretching after their run. Quinn had been pushing into Rachel for their last stretch then they both dropped to the ground beside each other. "God why do I feel like we haven't run in weeks instead of it being just yesterday that we did?"

Santana lay down too with her head propped on Brittany's thigh. "I don't know but I feel it too."

Brittany chuckled at them running her hand through Santana's pony. "It's because we went to sleep so late and didn't get up as early as we're used to. This always happens when our routine is messed up."

They both grunted and Quinn sat up as her phone alerted her to a new message. She looked at it confused. "Huh."

Rachel looked over concerned. "What is it?"

Quinn just shook her head lightly. "Um, it's a message from mom. It's just weird. She says we are to stay at your house and she and the other mom's with meet us there. She said she has an errand to run but she should be able to meet us all at your house by 1:00. We're supposed to order pizza or something on her and eat while we wait on them."

Santana sat up looking at her. "That's weird…" She pulled out her phone as it went off and read her message. "Ok, that was from Mami. Almost the same message but she and Britt's mama will be there to eat with us at noon."

Rachel was starting to get really concerned. "Do you think something is wrong?"

Quinn leaned back into her and kissed her shoulder lightly. "I don't know. I guess we'll find out in a little while."

They all gathered their things and headed back to Rachel's to shower and wait for the mom's. Just before noon Quinn called the pizza order in and it arrived shortly after Maribel and Susan arrived. The girls thought nothing more of why Judy was late as the other mom's acted like nothing was out of the ordinary.

A little after 1:00 the doorbell rang and Rachel went to answer and stopped dead as she saw Judy and Shelby standing on her doorstep. "Shelby, what are you doing here? Where's Beth?"

Shelby sighed. "She's at the baby sitters. Can we come in sweetheart?"

Rachel nodded dumbly and moved aside letting them in. Judy kissed her forehead as she passed and followed into the living room with the others.

Quinn hopped up seeing Shelby. "Shelby, is Beth ok?"

Shelby smiled and sat across from the couch the girls shared. "She's fine; I'm here to talk to Rachel."

Rachel sat pulling Quinn down beside her and looked to her expectantly. "So what can I do for you? I thought we were meeting tomorrow?"

"I know we were supposed to but something came up and I need to talk to you today." She took a deep breath, looked at Judy then back to Rachel. "I got a call late last night from a lawyer. When you were born and we signed the papers for the adoption there were a few things that were stipulated under emergency needs. There were four things we agreed on."

She took another breath to collect herself then looked back to Rachel. "The first thing you are already aware of. I was not allowed to have contact with you until you turned 18 unless one of the other three things occurred. Now, these first two are not what is happening so I don't want you to freak out but I want you to be aware of them. One, if before your 18th birthday both of your fathers dies you would come to live with me if the person they named to take you couldn't or wouldn't. Like I said, this is not what's happening."

Maribel handed her a glass of water and she gladly took it drinking deeply before continuing. "Second, if something happened to you and you were in need of something only I could provide, as we are a blood match for everything, I would be there to help. Like bone marrow, kidney or liver transplant, that kind of stuff. Obviously this is not what is happening."

She moved to the coffee table and sat in front of Rachel taking her hand. "Now, this is what is happening. The third thing is if for some reason your fathers became incapacitated in any way and were unable to care for you, you were to come into my care until they were well again if the person they chose to do so was unable or unwilling to."

Rachel was starting to tremble and Quinn pulled her close as Shelby continued. "There was an accident a few months ago that your fathers were in. They are alive but they were both unable to verbalize who they were until this past Thursday. I'm so sorry to tell you this but your dad Hiram is currently in a coma. Your daddy Leroy is just regaining his memories and remembered his name and that you needed taken care of."

Rachel just sat in a state of shock as Judy moved to kneel in front of her she looked into her eyes. "I received a call last night as well. I'm sure you know that your daddy was an only child and his parents passed away while we were in college and your dad's family kicked him out when he was in high school. Because of this they had no next of kin to care for you in case of something happening. Leroy for whatever reason still believed in me to help and named me your guardian and executor of their estate, along with medical and financial power of attorney."

Rachel finally found her voice and interrupted her. "Are they ok? I mean… are they going to be ok?"

Judy caressed her face. "I'm not sure exactly what is wrong with Hiram, so I don't know how to answer that and I won't lie to you. From what they told me Leroy is going to be fine he just needs to heal." Rachel nodded and leaned further into Quinn as Santana molded to her other side. "Ok, here's what is going to happen right now. I need to go to them and see what is going on medically and see what needs to be done. In order for me to do that Shelby is going to be staying with you and Quinn while I go."

Rachel went to protest but Judy stopped her. "I know you want to go with me and I would take you if I could but your passport is expired and it will take too long to get you another. I need to get to them now not a few weeks from now. That said I have ordered you one and when it comes in if they are still over there I will bring you to them. School should be out by than anyway.

Rachel wiped her tears and eyed Shelby. "I can stay alone. I don't need you here. You don't have to feel obligated to be here."

Shelby shook her head. "I don't feel obligated. I want to be here for you."

Rachel looked to Judy. "Can't we just stay at your house or with Mami?"

Maribel sighed. "I wish I could keep you mija but I'm leaving Monday for that work convention, and I can't get out of it I already tried. I am the key speaker and a thousand people paid to hear me speak. Papi is going with Judy to see if he can help so Santana will be staying with you and Quinn until either Judy and Papi or I get back."

Susan looked to her sadly. "I would take you all home with me but I just don't have the room. If there was no other choice I'd put you all on couches and the floor but Shelby will keep you all here and I will be dropping by often to check on you all. If Judy is not back by the weekend Brittany can stay Friday thru Monday with you all."

Rachel sighed and looked back with her eyes swimming to Judy who pulled her into a hug. "I know you have had a less than stellar relationship with her but your dad and daddy trusted for her to take care of you if I couldn't and it's just temporary until either I make it back or we get you to them. I'll know more after I get there."

Rachel burrowed into her neck. "When are you leaving?"

Judy rubbed her hair trying to sooth her as best as she could. "First thing in the morning, my flight leaves at 7:00. It'll be Tuesday before I actually make it to your dads. I'm staying here with you tonight and Shelby will be here getting things set up for her and Beth."

Judy paused just holding her for a moment then perked up slightly. "Look at it this way. You get to have Quinn with you 24/7 for a bit and she gets to spend more time with Beth."

Quinn sat up straight irritated. "Hey, don't use me against her. She doesn't have to do any of this for me."

Judy shook her head. "I wasn't, I was giving her a few things to add to the pros and cons list she's forming in her mind right now."

Rachel let out a watery giggle and pulled Quinn into their hug. "She's right; I was doing that, its ok."

Judy gently pushed Rachel further into Quinn and sat back digging into her purse. "Ok, I have a prepaid visa here that is linked to your account. It has $500 dollars on it and will reload automatically if it gets below $75. You can use it anywhere. They are working on your permanent card for the account. The back manager said they had to leave rather suddenly with a worksite problem and didn't finish getting it set up."

She handed Rachel an envelope, a book of temporary checks and a registry. "I put in the balance as of right now so you could keep track. Quinn can show you if you don't know how. Your card and checks should be in the mail sometime around Wednesday or Thursday but hang on to the prepaid card after you get all of it."

Rachel just shook her head stunned. "I'm not allowed to have money. They set me up at the restaurants and stuff."

Judy sighed. "The bank manager told me that they were in the middle of ordering your checks and bank card when they received a call and had to leave. They set you up this account so you could learn to manage your own money, so I'm just finishing that for them. You have a spending limit that I had upped until I or they get back in case of emergencies. All the information is in the envelope. They also told me that the card they were using at most of the restaurants for you is expired and you haven't been able to use it in a while."

She leaned over kissing her forehead then after looking at the other three looking so concerned she kissed them too before standing. "I need to go home for a little bit to pack then I will be back."

Shelby stood as well. "I need to pick up Beth and run home and gather all of her things and my bag then I will be back too." She took Rachel's hand and rubbed it lightly. "We have a lot to talk about but it can wait. You've had enough for one day. I'll be back in a little while. Do you have a guest room I can stay in?"

Rachel just nodded and burrowed into Quinn. Santana leaned over whispering into her ear than stood as Rachel nodded again. "Ok Ms. Corcoran, I'll show you the guest room. Brittany and I need to get all of our things out of it and put them in Rachel's room anyway."

She grabbed Brittany's hand and Shelby followed them upstairs. Maribel scooted over to Rachel and ran a soothing hand over her back. "Try not to make yourself sick with worry mija. Judy and Papi will find out what is happening with them and we will get them home."

Rachel pulled out of Quinn's arms and sobbed as she fell into Maribel's. "I need them to be ok Mami."

Maribel sat back and pulled Rachel into her lap and rocked her as she cried. Quinn molded to their side and rubber her back with tears in her eyes feeling useless. Judy kissed them again and headed out to get her things ready for the trip. When Santana came back down she rushed to her other side and molded into them as well.

Brittany sat at their feet and laid her head in Santana's lap with an arm around Rachel's legs. Shelby just stood there watching feeling helpless and caught Maribel's eye. "I'm going to get Beth now. I'll be back." Maribel nodded and just held on to Rachel.

Susan walked her with her to the door and stepped out closing it behind her. "I don't know all that happened with you and Rachel. I just know what my daughter told me that she was a total mess and completely wrecked the last time you were around so I'm going to give you a little advice."

She paused looking out over the yard then back to Shelby. "I may not have the money and resources that my friends or you have but I will destroy you if you hurt that girl again. She is the sweetest most loving girl I have ever met and I will not stand by and have you hurt her anymore. I'm doing as Judy asks right now but if I see or hear of you not doing right by her I will pull her out of here so fast your head will spin and you don't want to have to deal with me if that happens."

Shelby just looked at her sadly. "I understand but all I want is to help her and make up for my past mistakes. She was supposed to come to my house tomorrow so I could talk to her and apologize for all that. I promise I only want to be there for her."

Susan gave a stiff nod and turned to the door. "Just so we are clear," and she re-entered the house.

Shelby sighed then headed out to get her other daughter and their things.

Once back inside Susan was happy to see Rachel's sobs had calmed and she now just sat in Maribel's lab quietly. Maribel looked up and gave her a sad smile as she sat next to Santana. Rachel took a deep breath and tapped Brittany so she could stand.

She wiped her eyes and moved toward the door. "I'm going to clean my face," and she left the room.

The girls all looked to Maribel with sad eyes and Quinn leaned into her. "I don't know what to do to help her."

Susan leaned over and caressed her face. "The only thing any of us can do is be there for her. Judy and Alejandro will find out what's going on with the daddies Berry and we will go from there. She's not alone." She leaned down to cup Brittany's tear stained face. "You can stay tonight and tomorrow but you need to be home Monday night baby."

Brittany leaned into her hand nodding. "Ok mom, thank you. I don't want to leave her tonight."

Rachel game back in the room and crawled into Quinn's lap laying her head on her shoulder. Maribel smiled slightly and stood. "Ok, while Susan is still here I am going to run to the store to get some stuff for dinner."

Susan stood as well. "I brought that roast I had and my crockpot. I'll but that on for the meat eaters and you can just get stuff to go with it. I have everything to make it with the green chilies like you taught me."

Maribel nodded. "That's great, I'll grab the stuff to make some fajita style veggies, beans, rice and stop to get some tortillas as well. I'll be back in a bit." She leaned over and kissed all the girls then headed out.

Susan caressed Rachel's face as she got up to go to the kitchen. Quinn pulled Rachel in closer and kissed her forehead. Rachel sniffled against her. "I can't believe I thought the worst of them."

Running a soothing hand over her back Quinn kissed her head again. "Don't do that to yourself. You didn't know what to think."

Rachel sat up looking at her incredulously. "But if I had believed in them and talked to your mom sooner she may have been able to find them sooner and I could already be with them."

Santana pulled her face to look at her. "You don't know that. They didn't know who your daddy was until Thursday so how was Judy supposed to find them. Don't do this just be happy they found them now and that Papi and Mama J are going to help bring them home. You'll go crazy otherwise."

Rachel sighed and Quinn pulled her down for a small kiss. "She's right baby, let's just focus on getting them home. I still need to meet my girlfriend's dads officially."

Rachel chuckled lightly and lay back into her. "Ok" she paused and took a deep breath. "How am I going to deal with Shelby being here? I wish they would just let us stay here alone. It wouldn't be the first time."

Rubbing her arm Quinn sighed. "I know we have sweetie but mom is a worry wart. Before she was just across town and this time she's leaving the country. There is no way she would leave us without an adult. It'll be ok, you'll see."

With a shrug Rachel just burrowed in. "Maybe."

They all snuggled together quietly and Susan smiled at them when she came back in a little later. She reached over turning on the TV and settled on a movie she knew Brittany like. Halfway into the movie she noticed all the girls had fallen asleep and she covered them with the throw on the back of the couch than settle back in her chair to finish the movie.

It was going to be a long trying week and she would be the only mom there but she would be there for the girls anyway she could. These were her baby's sisters and her beloved. She wouldn't let them down.

A/N: OK thoughts on the Shelby situation and what happened to the Daddies Berry. Up next, dinner with the moms, Sunday with Shelby and school Monday.


	21. Chapter 21

Nothing is Right When You're Pretend

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

Chapter 21

Judy and Maribel arrived back to Rachel's at the same time and found them all still sleeping piled together on the couch. With a soft smile they moved on to the kitchen to put up groceries that Maribel bought.

Susan looked up as they entered and smiled. "Did you see the tangle of bodies in the living room?"

Judy chuckled, "Yes they're too cute. How long have they been a sleep?"

Susan looked to the clock. "About two hours. They fell asleep watching TV."

Maribel smile as she put some food in the fridge. "Do you know when Shelby is coming back?"

Susan nodded curtly. "She'll be back any time now. She texted about twenty five minutes ago that she would be back in half an hour."

Judy sighed. "I know you're not happy with this arrangement but that is what the Berry men wanted. I have to at least try with her. If she screws up you just have to call me and pull the girls out of here. My house is big enough you can take your whole family there and stay if you need to."

Maribel rubbed her shoulder. "We don't like this anymore than you do that is why we are leaving Santana and Quinn with Rachel. They will let us know if there is a problem with Shelby."

Susan sighed and relaxed slightly. "I know I wanted to leave Britt here all week but her dad said no. He would only agree to the weekend and to come home Monday night and come back on Friday to stay all next weekend. I will also be in and out of here all week."

Judy hugged her. "We know you'll be here for them. I wouldn't leave Quinn or Rachel here if I didn't trust that you would be. I'll keep in touch and let you know what is happening with her dads and Maribel will be back by next Sunday."

Susan nodded. "It's the best we can do."

Maribel smiled and put somethings on the counter. "Ok, I'm going to finish dinner. The roast with green chilies smells great."

They were working together preparing dinner when the Quinn walked in holding Beth with the girls and Shelby following behind.

Judy smiled and walked over to kiss the baby. "I swear she grows double in size every time I see her.

Shelby chuckled, "I think she does. She's growing so fast."

They all played with the baby for a moment until she eyed Rachel for a few then reached out wanting her. Rachel took her from Quinn and smiled as she settled with her head on her shoulder.

Shelby fought back tears seeing them together. "She's tired. Do you want to give her a bottle?"

Rachel nodded and looked to Quinn. "My god Quinn, pictures don't do her justice. She looks just like you."

Quinn smiled. "Yea, she might grow out of that yet."

Rachel playfully slapped her, "Bit your tongue. She's beautiful the way she is."

Shelby came back in with a bottle and a blanket and Rachel took them moving to the living room pulling Quinn behind them. She pushed Quinn into the rocker recliner and settled in her lap with the baby in hers. Quinn smiled brightly and rocked them as Rachel started singing softly.

Santana and Brittany sat with them singing back up quietly. Judy smirked at them then went back to the other moms. "If they aren't a couple yet I'll eat my shoes. They are so cute together."

Susan laughed. "Oh I'm sure they are. I may have seen a little kiss earlier."

Maribel bounced in place. "Oooooh, what kind of kiss?"

Susan just laughed harder at her excitement. "Just a little one but it was still on the lips. Now I love you ladies you are my best friends but I am not lip locking with either of you."

Judy pouted playfully. "Awe, take our fun away."

Shelby just watched them incredulously. "Um, you are just ok with them kissing and stuff."

Judy shot her a glare. "Why wouldn't we be? I just want them happy. If you have a problem with them being together you can leave now."

Shelby shook her head. "I have no problem with them being lesbians. I'm just shocked you're allowing them to share a bed and kiss each other in your presence. Rachel is free to love whoever makes her happy."

Judy calmed a bit and turned back to the veggies she was chopping. "Rachel needs her right now. If they are a couple it is a recent thing and you are not to address it with them unless they bring it up first. They are all 7 months or less away from being 18 so as long as they are safe I don't see a problem with them sleeping in the same room. I highly doubt they will so anything inappropriate with you in the house not to mention with Santana and sometimes Brittany sleeping with them."

Shelby nodded. "Ok, if you're sure. I'm glad I found out before you left and tried to separate them or something. I don't think that would have gone over well."

Maribel scoffed. "You're right there, also Brittany and Santana are a couple as well but just like Quinn and Rachel do not bring it up. None of them have told us yet and we are giving them space to come to terms with it themselves."

Shelby nodded and moved toward the others. "Can I help at all?"

Maribel shook her head. "Everything is almost done but you can set the table. Oh you need to remember if you cook for the girls at all that Rachel is vegetarian. We also made a list of allergies and emergency contact information for all four girls."

They all talked for a bit longer until they finished cooking dinner. Once Shelby finished setting the table they called the girls in to eat.

Rachel came in and looked to Shelby. "Santana unfolded the playpen and I put her down in there with her blanket."

Shelby nodded, "Thank you, she'll probably just sleep until we finish eating them want to eat as well. Her day was a little mixed up so she's off her schedule."

Rachel stiffened. "If it was going to mess with her schedule you should have just stayed with her today."

Shelby shook her head. "Hey stop, she's fine. I didn't mean anything by it. She'll be ok; she just didn't get her regular nap. I wasn't complaining honey."

Rachel just shrugged but visibly calmed and they all move to the table. Shelby sighed lightly and moved to sit as well. They all enjoyed dinner and true to what Shelby had predicted Beth was ready for food right as they finished eating. They all sat with them while Quinn feed they baby her dinner.

After dinner they all settled to watch a movie and Shelby went upstairs to set Beth's things up in the guest room. Alejandro made it there right after the movie ended with his bags for the next day. Susan left shortly after with a promise to be back in the morning to see them off and check on the girls. Maribel wouldn't leave until Monday and planned on staying with the girls until then but she was still coming by for a while tomorrow.

Once Rachel showed Maribel and Alejandro to the down stairs pull out bed and showed Judy up to the master bedroom they all went off to sleep. Rachel crawled into the middle of her bed. Quinn and Santana flanked her with Britt on the outside curled into Santana.

Rachel settled her head on Quinn's chest. "Thank you all for being here."

Quinn kissed her softly. "We wouldn't be anywhere else baby."

Santana hugged her from behind. "You'd do the same for us Tiny. Don't mention it."

Brittany reached over Santana and rubbed Rachel's back. "Just try and sleep Rachie. We'll be here when you wake up."

Rachel sighed into Quinn and fell asleep fairly easily.

They next morning she woke around 5:00 feeling restless and unable to go back to sleep. She tried to slip out of bed but she girls all woke as she moved. Quinn sat up first, "What's wrong, where are you going?"

She leaned over her and kissed her softly. "I couldn't sleep so I was going to go down and fix a quick breakfast for Mama J and Papi to eat before they left in an hour."

Quinn nodded and moved to scoot off the bed but Rachel tried to stop her. "You don't have to get up yet sweetheart, sleep some more."

Quinn shook her head and smiled as Santana and Brittany got up as well. "We'll help get breakfast ready than maybe we can get a run in since we don't have to be anywhere now."

Rachel sighed and smiled at them all. "Ok, sounds good."

They used the bathroom and dressed quickly before moving to the kitchen. They heard the others moving around as well so they quickly threw together a breakfast scramble and fruit salad. Quinn mashed some of the potatoes and fruit up for Beth.

They were just finishing setting the table as Maribel came into the room. "Good morning niῆas. What are you doing up so early?"

Santana smile, "We get up this early every morning for our run Mami. We are just going to feed everyone and say bye to Mama J and Papi before we go today."

Judy came in with Susan and Alejandro right behind her. "What's all this?"

Rachel walked over and hugged her. "I just wanted to make sure you ate before you left. It's ready so we can all sit."

Judy smile and hugged her tightly. "Thank you honey. Shelby will be down in a few with Beth. She was just changing her."

Rachel nodded and they all sat to eat. Shelby and Beth joined them a few minutes later and they all talked as they ate. Once they were finished they loaded up in Alejandro's car and after lots of hugs and kisses they were on their way to the airport.

They watched them leave and Rachel turned to the girls. "Ok, are you guys ready to go?"

Shelby raised an eyebrow in question. "Where in the world are you going at 6:00 in the morning girls?"

Rachel sighed, "We are headed to the park for our morning run."

Shelby just shook her head. "Isn't it a little early for that?"

Quinn shook her own head. "No, we've been running like this for over a month. During the week we use the school track and on the weekend we go to the park and run the trails."

Shelby moved to reply but Susan cut her off. "It's fine. We all are aware of this. They run almost every day."

Shelby just looked shocked but nodded and moved back in to the house calling over her shoulder. "Well, have a good run and be careful." With that she went in to Beth.

The girls hugged the moms after Santana ran in after her keys, IPod and arm band and were off to the park in Santana's car. After their run they went to the Lima bean and grabbed coffee for everyone and headed home.

They spent the better part of the day doing homework together and Rachel helped Brittany with hers. Later in the afternoon Santana and Quinn went to talk to Maribel and Susan.

Santana looked to her mom. "If it's ok, we think it would be a good idea if we took Tiny to a movie and dinner out to keep her mind busy."

Maribel and Susan shared a look then nodded. "I think that is a good idea. Susan was just leaving and I need to head to the house and make sure I have everything ready for tomorrow. I'll let Shelby know what you are doing just let her know when you are leaving and when you will be returning."

They nodded enthusiastically and hugged them both before running upstairs to ask the girls if they wanted to go on a double date and get out of the house.

They went to dinner and a movie and Rachel was doing ok. She was determined to keep a positive outlook on everything unless Judy and Alejandro found out something bad. She was ignoring Shelby for the most part but knew she would have to talk to her eventually.

Once they made it home it was pretty late. They told Maribel and Shelby goodnight then headed off to bed. Tomorrow was Monday and they would have to deal with Finn coming back to Glee and the probability that there would be another fight about the duel. Maribel was leaving before they went to school and Shelby would be the other grown up at the house for the most part. It looked to be a long week.

A/N: Ok, another chapter down. Next up school and the reaction to the girls being in relationships with each other and dealing with Glee.


	22. Chapter 22

Nothing is Right When You're Pretend

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

Chapter 22

Monday morning after Maribel left for the airport the girls headed to the school for their normal run. When they arrived they were met with Puck, Sam and Mike all stretching on the track.

They shared confused looks then moved to the boys. "Good morning boys what brings you here this morning?" Rachel asked as they sat to stretch.

Puck shrugged. "We just wanted to get a run in this morning."

Santana scoffed. "You've never gotten up early to run when it wasn't for football a day in your life. What's up?"

Puck sighed. "We're just keeping an eye out ok?"

Rachel moved forward and kissed his cheek. "Thank you Noah. I think we're ok but we appreciate it."

The girls all hugged the boys then finished stretching for their run. Quinn moved to the starting line looking to the boys. "Are you sure you guys don't want to just sit and watch? Do you really think you can keep up?"

Santana laughed moving in beside her. "Please, these boys can't keep up with us. Boy Chang will be the only one that will even get close."

Sam and Puck scoffed as they high fived. "Challenge accepted."

The girls all smirked as they took off all together and the boys took off at a fast pace. Rachel shook her head. "They do realize this isn't a sprint but a long distance run don't they?"

Brittany shrugged. "I don't know, but there is no way they will last at that speed and I'm not killing myself to catch up and tell them."

They all laughed and continued on watching the boys race each other and goof off. Halfway into the run Puck and Sam collapsed on the field and Mike caught up with them panting heavily. "I just have to get back around to them once before I die."

They all just smiled and laughed when they made it back around and he collapsed next to the other boys. The girls just continued on until their hour was up and walked over to cooldown and stretch.

Santana chuckled as she leaned into Brittany for her stretch. "We should have bet something. I feel like we let an opportunity pass us by."

Quinn breathed through the stretch of Rachel leaning into her. "I know what you mean. Next time we will get some money or something out of it."

Rachel shifted and rubbed her chest into her back and whispered breathlessly into her ear. "I'll give you a prize for winning later baby. You don't need anything from those boys."

Quinn closed her eyes and bit back a moan to keep it from escaping. "Sorry S. I don't need to bet with them."

Santana saw the look on her face and started laughing. "Whipped Q really?"

Brittany turned in place and bit into her neck. "Be nice San if you want me to give you a prize later."

Santana groaned, "Sorry Q."

Brittany and Rachel shared a giggle and Puck smiled brightly. "You're both whipped and I think we got the prizes even though we lost. You guys are hot."

Santana threw a towel at him. "Watch it buddy or I'll tell Lauren what a dog you are."

He grabbed his chest and gasped. "No, hey, I was just kidding around. No reason to get me in trouble here."

They all laughed and stood walking to the school. Quinn grabbed her and Rachel's bag than her hand before turning to the boys. "I guess give us 20 minutes to shower and change than meet us at the locker room doors?"

Sam nodded. "Sounds good we'll see you in a bit." With that the boys limped off to their locker room and the girls entered their own.

A little while later found them all sitting on a bench ready waiting on Rachel to finish up. When it got a little later Quinn stood and moved over to the stall Rachel was in. "Hey Rach, you ok? We really need to head to class."

Rachel stepped out of the stall and moved into Quinn's arms. "I'm sorry let's go."

Quinn hugged her close. "What's wrong honey?"

Rachel shrugged. "I'm just not in the mood to deal with all the crazy at this school today. It's been a long weekend."

Quinn pulled up her chin and kissed her sweetly. "You let me and San worry about the crazy at school today. You just do what you can and let me take care of you."

Rachel sighed and nodded. "Ok, let's go I don't want to make everyone else late. I know they are still out there waiting."

Quinn kissed her one more time then shouldered her backpack and grabbed her hand. As they made their way to the door Brittany came over and hugged her tightly. "No worries Rachie. We got your back."

Rachel kissed her cheek. "Thanks Britt."

Santana just hugged her then opened the door and followed them out. All of the Gleeks minus Finn were all waiting to walk them to class. They all sat through role call in homeroom and ignored the glares coming from Finn. Once the bell rang they made it to the hall and Santana pulled Brittany into a bone crushing hug.

She kissed her neck softly and moved up to whisper in her ear. "Stay with Puck and Sam baby. I don't want you alone at all ever. If you need to use the restroom take a glee girl with you."

Brittany sighed at the tension in Santana's body. "I promise San. I'll stay with the boys and take a buddy to the bathroom. I will be safe babe."

Santana let out a breath and let her go. "Ok," She kissed her lips chastely and watched as Puck threw an arm around her shoulders pulling her close. Lauren walked next to him glaring at anyone that looked their way with Sam on the other side of Brittany. She sighed turning to Quinn and Rachel.

Rachel pulled her close and interlocked their arms. Santana smiled slightly and just walked beside them. "Do you really think she will be ok without us?"

Rachel rubbed her arm soothingly. "Yes I do. Noah, Sam and Lauren will take care of her. They are with her every class and she is with us for free period, lunch and Glee. Mama Peirce also said she could eat dinner with us before you bring her home."

Santana let out a breath and nodded as they entered their first class of the day. The day went by like always. No one said anything to them and through periodic text throughout the day they knew Brittany had been good too. Santana stayed a ball of nerves until free period rolled around and Puck brought Britt to them in the auditorium. She immediately jumped up and hugged her than sat pulling her down into her lap. Her biggest fear was something happening to Brittany because of their relationship and this narrow minded town they lived in.

After they ate Quinn pulled Rachel over into her own lap and chuckled at Rachel's surprised squeak. "Quinn!"

She just laughed pulled her down and kissed her softly. "It's been too long since I kissed you and I wanted to be closer to you."

Rachel melted into her on a sigh wrapping her arms around her neck loosly. "Well, all you had to do was ask sweetie. I wouldn't have objected."

Quinn just grinned. "Where's the fun in that?"

Rachel slapped her stomach playfully and leaned in to kiss her again. Brittany squealed in delight looking at them then at Santana. "We can totally do better than that San."

Santana smirked pulling her down. "You bet your ass we can."

They kissed for a while before the clearing of a throat brought them back to the now. Looking up they threw smiles and smirks at the obviously turned on Puck. "You guys can't do that to me it's not fair. My baby will have my ass if she catches me fantasizing about you and here you are doing that."

Brittany laughed looking at her watch seeing it was almost time for the bell. "Just don't look silly and you're early."

Puck shrugged. "I wanted to make sure we had time to walk to your lockers and to San's class before we headed to math."

Britt clapped happily as she stood and kissed his cheek causing him to blush. "Thank you Puck, you're the best."

He grumbled under her breath than smiled at the bubbly girl. "Don't mention it Britt. I mean really, don't mention it. I'm just trying to help out. We're a family right? I mean we're all kinds of screwed up be we got each other's back." he shrugged and looked away.

Rachel stood and kissed his cheek, "Thank you Noah" She turned as Sam and Lauren came down the aisle too. "And thank you again Sam and Lauren for helping us."

Sam just smiled and Lauren shrugged. "No problem midget. We look out for our own."

They all shared once last smile and headed to their lockers and to class. At the door Santana hugged Britt tightly and watch forlornly as she disappeared down the hall. "This sucks donkey balls guys."

Rachel and Quinn pulled her into the classroom and to their desks. Rachel threw an arm over her shoulder as she sat. "At least we only have a few weeks of school left and if she keeps improving she may be able to take some of our classes with us next year."

Santana perked up at this. "You think?"

Rachel nodded. "I really do. Brittany is not stupid by any means she just processes things differently. I just cater the way I tutor her to the way she thinks and learns."

Santana hugs her enthusiastically. "You are so awesome Tiny. That would be so nice next year."

Rachel chuckles hugging her back then sits back in her seat as the teacher arrives. Quinn puts her arm around her shoulder resting on the seat and pulls her close. "I think you are more than awesome Rach. I think you're wonderful."

Rachel blushes and leans over kissing her cheek quickly. "Thank you but I really didn't do anything; Britt did all the hard work."

Quinn just shakes her head at her girlfriend's modesty and turns her attention to the teacher.

The rest of the day is uneventful and the girls all completely calm as Puck and the others meet them at their lockers with Brittany before Glee. Santana wraps an arm around her as they make their way to the choir room. Rachel and Quinn follow holding hands talking to Puck about the duet he's been practicing to sing with Rachel.

When they enter the room Finn is already there sitting in the seat next to Rachel's usual seat. Quinn scoffs and pulls her up the riser to the second row on the other side of the room. Santana and Quinn flanked her and Puck, Lauren and Sam sat in front of then never stopping their conversation.

Finn watches angrily as she talks to Puck. "Hey Rach, I was wanting to sit with you so we could talk."

Rachel looked over to him. "There's nothing to say Finn and I am talking to Noah at the moment."

Shaking his head he stood and moved toward them causing Mike and Sam to stand up while Puck stayed right in front of the girls. "I just want to talk and apologize Rachel. You don't have to be like this."

Rachel just shook her head. "I don't want to talk to you Finn. Nothing you have to say will change that. I'm not interested in facilitating even a friendship with you after everything that has happened. I will interact with you only for Glee and only as we have to be on the same stage."

Before he can say any more Mr. Shue walks in and sets his things down. "Ok guys let's have a seat and get started. We have a lot to do before Nationals."

Finn huffs and returns to his seat and the boys move back to their own. Shue claps his hands and looks up. "Ok, to recap what we have been doing for Finn, we have written our new group number and we are using the solo from Regionals as is required. We just need to settle the matter of the duet."

Finn raises his hand. "Do we have to write that one too since the other songs are written or can we use another song?"

"We have decided to stay with writing our own songs since the required number is an original."

Finn nodded, "No one has any ideas for a duet?"

Mercedes folds her arms in front of her. "We have a duet we're just waiting for Mr. Shue to decide to use it properly."

Mr. Shue shook his head. "This is silly guys we need to come together on this."

Kurt scowled. "We have come together on this. We want the song Rachel wrote, sang the way it was written to be sung."

Shue looked down dejectedly as Finn perked up. "If we have a duet already let's hear it and see the sheet music for it."

Puck smirked standing to take Rachel's hand. "You ready for this my Jewish Princess?"

Rachel smiled squeezing his hand. "Absolutely Noah, let's do this."

They got set as Puck hooked up the instrumental and pressed play and took his mark. As they sang the song Rachel couldn't help but for her gaze to linger on Quinn at key moments but she and Puck did wonderfully. It showed that he had really been practicing as he hit every note with ease.

When it was done the group stood and cheered for them as Quinn, Santana and Brittany went to hug them. Quinn pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "I'm so happy we're not pretending anymore Rachel. I love you."

Rachel closed her eyes on a sigh whispering back. "I love you too and I hate singing it without you but he did amazing."

Quinn pulled back smiling. "He did really great."

They all started to quiet down and Finn move forward. "That is an awesome song Mr. Shue. Rachel and I will sound awesome singing it together."

Rachel shook her head. "No, Puck is singing this song not you. That's how it was written."

Finn's face turned red in fury. "That is bullshit. I am the male lead and this duet should be mine."

Mr. Shue stepped up and put a hand on the boy's shoulder trying to calm him. "Rachel this is what I've been saying…"

Puck stepped forward pissed. "He's not the only guy that can sing in this group and its bullshit not to give me a shot with a song that was written for me to sing that I have practiced hard for."

Rachel put a hand on his arm for comfort. "The facts have not changed Mr. Shue. It's my song and I refuse to sing it with Finn. I'm not going to do it."

Finn was about to blow, "Finn I'll sing it with Quinn or Santana or Tina even."

Santana scoffed, "No way in hell am I singing with you after the way you treated my bestie."

Quinn wrapped an arm around Rachel's waist. "Not happening."

Tina, Mercedes, Lauren and Brittany all stood together shaking their heads at him. Throwing his hands in the air her roared, "This is Bullshit. Why did you write that song for Puck anyway? Are you trying to steel him from Zizes."

Mr. Shue shook his head looking disappointed. "This is wrong, I can't believe you are being so selfish here Rachel. We're supposed to be a family here and for you to alienate Finn this way isn't right."

At this they all just stared at him, jaws on the ground in exasperation when a voice from the door shocked them all. "I think what is wrong Will is for you to force my daughter to sing with a boy that has assaulted her on more than one occasion and that she doesn't feel comfortable being around."

They all spun to look at her as she moved to Rachel who was looking up at her in awe. "Shelby?"

A/N: Next Will gets a smack down from Shelby and another surprise enters the choir room as well.


	23. Chapter 23

Nothing is Right When You're Pretend

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

Chapter 23

Shelby smiled down at her with a wink than looked back up at Shue. "The song was written by her and she and the legal right to dictate who sings it and who doesn't and I will fight you every step of the way if you try and force her hand."

Will shook out of his shock. "What are you doing here Shelby? Rachel isn't even your concern."

Shelby just smirked. "That's where you're wrong. She has always been my concern and I never should have listened to you about it in the first place. It is clear you do not have her best interests at heart and never did."

She glared at him and he took a step back as she continued. "I have guardianship of her while her fathers are away and I'll be damned if you are going to treat her this way."

She turned to Finn and walked up right in his personal space. "And as for you, you will stay away from my daughter and all of my other girls or so help me god I will have a lawsuit slapped on you so fast your mother's head will spin. I will see you in jail before I see you near her, Quinn, Santana, or Brittany ever again. BACK OFF!"

Finn nodded rapidly frozen in place with fear in his eyes as she moved back to Rachel's side she rested a hand on her shoulder. "Do I make myself clear Will or are we going to have a problem."

"There will be no problem because I am now reinstating myself as active co-coach of this little club once again with Figgins permission."

They turned to the door to see Coach Sue, Figgins and Susan Peirce. Susan moved over to the girls and Brittany smiled brightly. "When did you get here mom?"

Susan kissed her cheek. "Shelby and I got here when practice started. We were listening to everything and I put a call in to Coach Sue and Figgins so they could hear what was being said. When Shelby came in I waited for them to get here. They both heard everything."

Mr. Shuester paled. "We were just discussing our set list."

Shelby scoffed moving toward him, "No you were bullying my daughter to sing with this boy she is scared of."

Figgins held a hand up. "Ok, this is getting out of hand. William you cannot make her sing with him if she doesn't want to. You also cannot use her song and not use it the way she says to do so. Sue will be in here with you for the rest of the year until you can get a hold on things once more. Ms. Corcoran will also be sitting in on practices as outside advisor."

Mr. Shue moved to argue but Figgins stopped him. "No, Coach Sylvester will be here until Nationals and your club could benefit from Ms. Corcoran's expertise, this is non-negotiable. As of now you are on written warning for the misuse of your position. One more infraction and I will be forced to suspend you and suggest a review board to evaluate your position in this school."

Will just sat down on a stool stunned and the kids all stood open mouthed. Sue smirked and turned to Finn. "Finn Hudson because of your actions and attitude today and having to be kicked out of the prom you are no longer a member of this club and will not be allowed to attend any school functions or be a part of any other team or club for the rest of the year."

Finn balled his fist and yelled. "That's not fair! We have Nationals and I have basketball playoffs next week."

"Not anymore." They all turned to the door as Burt and Carol came through. Burt came up beside him and shook his arm. "Unclench those fists boy and listen." He nodded for them to continue.

Figgins sighed. "One more problem out of you this year and you will be expelled and will not be allowed in clubs and sports next year as well. That is all, you can leave now."

Finn just stood there in shock. "They can't go to nationals without me."

Sue shook her head. "You are not irreplaceable Hudson. I have some kids that are coming in to help out with National."

Shelby stepped up to Burt and Carol. "My name is Shelby Corcoran, I'm Rachel's mother. I want to tell you exactly what I said to your son. If he comes near my daughter again I will file a lawsuit against him. I will have him arrested and in jail if he ever lays another hand on my baby. She should not have to fear your son. He is to stay away from her and the other girls indefinitely."

Burt nods. "Agreed, we will deal with him. He's going to be so busy working at the shop and in his anger classes that he won't have time to think of anything else from now until school starts next fall."

Carol shook her hand. "I am so sorry it has come to this. We love Rachel and Quinn and will keep him away. Kurt we will see you at home son."

Kurt kissed her cheek and Shelby nodded moving back over to Rachel as they pulled him out of the room. "Now, Sue I think today's practice is over don't you?"

Sue smirked at Shue. "Yes, I agree. We will meet during free period tomorrow so we can introduce the new members than meet at our normal time on Wednesday to work on the routines. The set list stands with the group number you wrote, the solo as required and Rachel and Puckerman's duet. That is all."

Shue shook his head and stormed out of the room. Figgins and Sue left as well. Shelby turned to Rachel. "Are you ok?"

Rachel nodded looking at her like she had grown a second head. Quinn rubbed one hand up and down Rachel's arm and took Shelby's hand with the other giving it a squeeze. "Thank you for the help and telling them off. That was awesome."

Shelby chuckled. "It was enjoyable as well."

Santana laughed. "I bet, I thought Frankenteen was going to crap his pants when you got in his face and I think he did when Burt and Carol came in."

The whole group laughed at this and Shelby smiled. "I can't take credit for that one. It wasn't me that called them."

They looked to Susan who shook her head and Kurt raised his hand. "Um, that was me. I texted the second he stood and started getting mad explaining to them what was going on. They got here right after Figgins walked in and stood in the hall just listening."

Quinn walked over and hugged him smiling bigger when Rachel, Brittany and Santana made it a group hug. "Thanks Kurt."

Once they released him he blushed and shrugged. "I didn't want to see you hurt again."

Susan smiled and pulled the Rachel into a hug. "Ok girls, why don't we head to our house for dinner?" she turned to Brittany. "Papa is firing up the grill tonight and he bought some mushroom burger things for Rachel."

They all nodded happily and she turned to Shelby. "Why don't you grab Beth and meet us there? I'll text you the address and direction."

Shelby nodded and kissed Rachel's head. "I'm going to leave now and pick up your sister. I'll see you in a bit."

With that she wave to the others and was off. Rachel just watched her go still in shock at all that had just occurred. Quinn put an arm around her waist and looked to Susan. "Do you need us to stop for anything Mama P? Do you want us to get drinks or anything?"

Susan smile and shook her head. "I think Papa got everything we needed. He even got that healthy juice stuff all you girls love to drink."

They all smiled and said their good byes to her and the other Gleeks as they left leaving just the four of them standing there. Rachel shook her head like she was coming out of a fog. "Did all that really just happen? Did my mother just come in here and do that?"

Santana laughed. "Yes Tiny, she came in here like the hand of god and laid a smack down on their asses. I thought Finnocence was going to cry when she went all avenging mama angel on his ass."

Rachel just looked at them confused. "I don't understand."

Quinn sighed and pulled her close kissing her temple. "I told you she was serious about wanting to be a part of your life honey. She really feels bad about before. Just talk to her and see what she has to say and I guaranty you will see it too."

Rachel leaned into her nodding. "Yea, I think it's time I do that. She really was amazing."

Santana nudged her shoulder. "Come on let's get out of here. Papa P is the best with the grill and I bet those mushroom burgers will be bomb." They all agreed and headed out.

An hour later found them in the Peirce's back hard running around playing with the Brittany's younger siblings and passing Beth back and forth. Shelby and Susan sat on the patio watching and laughing at the children's antics while Simon Peirce manned the grill smiling and shaking his head at them.

Simon looked to Shelby. "So I hear you really gave them the what for today."

Shelby chuckled. "Yea, I just hope I didn't go too overboard and embarrass Rachel too much."

Susan shook her head. "I think you did just fine embarrassment or not. Those two had it coming. Judy and Marisol would have been proud."

They all laughed at that and turned as Rachel ran up laughing hysterically and hid behind Shelby. "Mom, don't let them get me!"

Shelby looked out to the yard and saw the oldest of the Peirce boys Michael and Andrew with water balloons about to launch them. "I don't think so boys."

Susan gave them the mom look and stood. "BOYS, put those down and throw them away. I told you earlier no water war today."

They hung their heads and headed to the trash as Rachel came out and gave Shelby a smile before running off. "Thanks."

Shelby laughed after her than stopped abruptly looking sharply over to Susan. "She just called me mom."

Susan just smile. "Well, you acted like her mom today so I guess she's getting used to the idea."

Shelby just smiled and went back to watching Rachel with the others. "I hope so."

After the girls had left for school that morning Shelby asked Susan to stay and have coffee with her. She told her everything that had happened when she had to give her up and from before when she and Rachel met and how it all ended. She talked about where her head was and the mistakes she made just totally pouring her heart out to the woman.

Susan was starting to understand her and like her better. After talking about what was going on at school and what they had heard the girls talking about over the weekend they decided to go to the school and be proactive talking to Sue and Figgins. They agreed that they could eavesdrop on what was happening so they could intervene and call them in if necessary.

It had been a good plan and she was impressed with how Shelby handled it. She had called both Judy and Marisol on her way home to tell them about her laying a smack down on Finn and Shue. They were all happy she was stepping up. She was feeling better about leaving the girls with her while the other moms were away.

Simon called for the children to wash up and the teen rounded them all up and ushered them into the house while Shelby helped Susan set the tables for dinner. They pulled out a large folding table outside that would house all the children, set the teens up at the picnic table and the adults at the patio table. Susan pulled out their old highchair for Beth and put her at the table with them.

Dinner was a hit and they all enjoyed Simons cooking, the company and conversation. After helping clean up the mess Shelby and the girls headed home to Rachel's. When they got there the girls separated from Shelby and went up to Rachel's room. Santana went to shower before bed and Quinn and Rachel lay on the bed snuggled together to wait their turn for the bathroom.

Rachel sighed and tilted her head to kiss Quinn's neck lovingly. "I think I need to go talk to her before bed tonight."

Quinn squeezed her tighter. "I think it would be a good idea. She will have put Beth down by now if you want to."

Leaning up she kissed Quinn tenderly before sitting up and scooting off the bed as Santana came out of the bathroom. "I'm going to shower really quick then go talk to her while you shower."

She slipped into the bathroom and Santana looked to Quinn. "She ok?"

Quinn nodded. "Yea, she's just going to talk to Shelby tonight about everything."

Nodding she climbed on the bed and sat leaning against the head board. "Are you sure that this is a good idea, her letting Shelby close again?"

Quinn sighed. "I really do. After talking to Shelby about all of it and what she told me I think she needs to know all of it."

"Ok, if you think it's best. You know more about it than I do."

Quinn grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "You know I'd never suggest something that I thought would hurt her. I love her San."

Santana drew her close with an arm around her shoulder. "I know Q. You know I'm a worry wart, I can't help it."

They talked for a few more minutes and looked up as Rachel came out freshly bathed and dressed for bed. She walked over and kissed Quinn softly. "I'm going to talk to her now. I'll be back in a bit."

With that she was out the door and Quinn made her way to the bathroom praying that she had made the right choice in talking her into this.

Rachel stood outside her door pacing for a few before drumming up the courage to knock softly not wanting to wake they baby. Shelby called her to enter and she took a deep breath before opening the door and going in.

Shelby looked up with a smile. "Hello sweetheart, what can I do for you?"

Rachel moved closer wringing her hands. "Can we talk?"

A/N: I know I know you didn't want me to stop there but I just had too. I'm horrible that way. Next up the talk.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters. 

Shelby smiled and patted the bed next to her. “Of course, have a seat honey.” Rachel fully came into the room and sat beside her but didn’t say anything so she grabbed her hand and squeezed. “What’s up is everything ok?”

She squeezed back and sighed. “Yes I just thought it was time we talked. Today was intense and some of it really confused me.”

Shelby sat back against the headboard and pulled Rachel to sit with her. “What confused you baby?”

Rachel shrugged, “Why you were there for one but mostly what you said to Mr. Shuester that you shouldn’t have listened to him.”

Shelby sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. “I think the best way to explain is to start from the beginning.”

Rachel nodded, “That might help.”

Shelby took a drink of her water taking a deep breath. “When I was 17 I moved to New York. I was attending classes at NYADA on a full scholarship. My family didn’t have much money and I worked my ass off to get where I was. Four years later right after I graduated I received a phone call from my father telling me that my mother was very ill.”  
She took a shaky breath and Rachel took her hand. “He couldn’t afford the treatment she needed. I started looking for a job for the summer so I could help. I found the ad for a surrogate that paid very well. After I met your fathers and explained my situation they agreed to pay me half the money they were offering and my mother’s medical bill along with living expenses while I was pregnant.”

“At the time it seemed like the perfect solution. Mom would get the treatment she needed, I would get a little money as cushion to help with starting my career and a wonderful couple would get the baby they always wanted. It honestly didn’t occur to me that it would be as hard as it was.”

She wiped a stray tear and continued. “They had all the contracts drawn up detailing what each of us would do and the contract that I wouldn’t have contact with you until you sought me out or you turned 18. The first few months I did fine with everything but then I felt you moved for the first time. Until that moment you weren’t real. I spent a week after that trying to figure out how I felt about everything and started second guessing my choices. I realized that I wanted to keep you or at least be a part of your life.”

She took a breath and looked off into space for a moment before continuing. “I talked to Hiram and he told me it wasn’t an option. I signed the papers and made my choice so I would have to live with it. He said he and Leroy didn’t want help raising you or need another person around to butt in. I talked to a lawyer friend of mine and he told me I could get out of the contract and keep you but I would have to pay back any money they paid me. I still had all that they had given me but there was no way I could afford to pay back what they had spent on my mother’s treatments so I was stuck.” 

She wiped her eyes and looked into Rachel’s. “The day you were born was the hardest day of my life. Giving you up broke me and it took a long time before I was even close to ok again. I got to hold you for 5 minutes before they took you away. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. My mother and father had no idea where I had gotten the money they thought I found a job on Broadway. So they never understood the deep sadness I carried. It’s the reason I let Quinn be in Beth’s life. I never want her to feel the way I did or for Beth to always wonder about her.”

“Eventually my mother got better and was in remission for many years. I actually lost daddy first 5 years ago and mama 6 months before I found you. I was at your invitational checking out the completion. The moment you took the stage I knew you were mine then you started singing and I couldn’t believe how talented you were. You are so much better than I was at my best.”

Rachel just blushed and she continued. “I left that night and did a little research to prove that you were who I thought you were and found your fathers business was based out of Lima. I started planning and trying to figure out how to get you to know I was around because I couldn’t contact you. This part you already know and I am so sorry for the turmoil and heartache that Jesse caused you. I didn’t find out about all of it until after regionals. As punishment for the egging I wasn’t going to let him perform at nationals but the school forced my hand and at the end of the school year I didn’t sign on for another year. I took Beth and went back to New York. I got a role in a new play that was coming out but I just wasn’t happy there and decided I wanted, no, I needed to be here.”

Shelby turned her body to fully face Rachel. “The day I brought Beth home I realized that I was wrong. I still needed you in my life. Beth was never a replacement and I realized after we spoke how what I said sounded and it wasn’t meant that way. I wanted to have the chance to raise a baby but I still needed you. I have wanted you from the moment I first felt you move inside me and have never stopped wanting or loving you. After we met I started to get scared thinking I was going to screw you up or do something wrong and I panicked.”

She took a breath to compose herself and Rachel just sat not knowing what to say or if she should so she just remained silent. “You told me the story about the water and it hit me that I missed my chance to see you as a baby and a small child. You had two fathers that love you and your school and glee and I just didn’t feel that there was a place for me. After you came to me to ask for help with your costume I started to think that maybe there was a place for me in your life.”

She sat quietly calming herself more because she wasn’t sure who she was angrier with about what happened next. “After that I was going to come and talk to you about trying to have a relationship but Will called and asked me to come talk to him. At the time I thought he was just concerned about you but… he brought up every insecurity I had about trying to reconnect with you and convinced me that I should walk away because my presence in your life would only hurt you.”

She sat forward and took Rachel’s hands in her own. “The hardest day of my life may have been the day you were born and I had to watch as they took you away. But the stupidest day… the day I regret the most… was the day I told you goodbye. That day will haunt me the rest of my life, especially if I have ruined my chances to be your mom or even just your friend. I am so sorry that I let my insecurities and an outside influence sway me in what I wanted and what you deserved from me. I am so sorry.”

She looked down trying to control the sobbing coming from her, not wanting to wake the baby or upset Rachel. Rachel observed her for a moment while she let all she had just revealed to her sink in. She moved slowly so Shelby could stop her if she wanted to and crawled into her lap wrapping her arms around her neck. Shelby startled at first not expecting her to be that close but as soon as she was in her lap she pulled her in tight and just held on not able to control her sobs Rachel’s tears mixing with her own.

They eventually calmed and just sat holding each other close. Shelby shifted and pulled her face up to look in her eyes. “I’m so sorry Rachel. Can you ever forgive me for being such an idiot and let me be in your life? I swear to you I will do better by you this time.”

Rachel could only nod and bury her face in her neck again just breathing her in. Shelby’s heart soared at that nod and she just held on. “Susan and I heard you girls talk about the problems you were having with Will and that Flynn boy this weekend and talked about all of it after you left this morning. I told her I was coming to the school and she agreed wanting to come with me. That’s why I was there. I wanted to help and after listening to you girls and hearing him I came to the conclusion he wasn’t trying to help you when he talked to me. I think he was just trying to make sure you didn’t leave to come to my school with me or something.”

Rachel chuckled at her misuse of Finns name then nodded into her pulling her face away slightly, resting on her shoulder. “I wouldn’t be surprised. He only cares what Finn wants and the rest of the group comes second and I am always last. I wasn’t even going to sing that song for the group because I knew he would force the issue and want me to sing it with Finn. The girls convinced me that it was my song and I could dictate what happened with it. As of right now the only people with access to the sheet music and tracks is me, Santana, Quinn, Brittany and Noah because I was afraid of them getting a hold of it and using it without my permission.”

Shelby sighed leaning into the headboard pulling Rachel back with her. “Well you don’t have to worry about that anymore. Sue and I will take care of everything. Will has no say in what happens right now. I came on as advisor to make damn sure that you were treated properly or he will deal with me.”

Rachel chuckled. “He was definitely scared of you today. You are very frightening when you’re angry.”

Shelby just smiled. “No one messes with my babies and gets away with it. Just ask Jesse and Vocal Adrenaline. I ran them into the ground for a solid week before Nationals since the school board wouldn’t let me punish them any other way. They’re honestly lucky to have won. I worked them all night into the early morning right before the performance.”

Rachel smiled happy to know that Shelby had her back even when she didn’t know about it. “I forgive you. I want the mom I was starting to get to know back. Just… I…”

Shelby lifted her chin up to look at her. “What honey?”

A tear rolled down her face and she took a deep breath. “I don’t think I could handle it again if you left…”

Shelby pulled her back in. “I promise you right now Rachel that short of an act of God or you telling me to go, I will never leave you again. I love you so much and I am so sorry. I will tell you that every day for the rest of your life if that’s what it takes for you to see how sorry I am.”

Rachel nodded into her letting her tears flow as she held on for dear life. After they calmed a few moments later Rachel looked up into her eyes. “I forgive you and I believe you. I don’t want you to keep apologizing I just want to move forward. So, from now on we stop looking back and move on with life.”

Shelby just looked at her in awe. She couldn’t believe she helped create such a wonderful person. She was so great inside and out. “Ok deal. We move forward from here and in the spirit of moving forward… As you mom I must inform you that it is a school night and it’s getting really late.”

Rachel chuckled and burrowed back into her neck. “Can I stay for just a bit longer?”

Shelby smiled rubbing her back. “Of course you can. For as long as you need baby.”

Rachel sighed and just enjoyed being held by her. After the day they had stressing over Brittany and dealing with Glee it didn’t take long for Rachel to fall asleep curled up warm with Shelby. Shelby wasn’t complaining. She had her baby back and if she was comfortable enough with her to fall asleep like this she was just going to let her.

She shifted until she was lying with Rachel curled into her as close to the edge of the bed by Beth as she could get. As she predicted a few moments later two head popped into the doorway and she waved them in. “I think she’s out for the night.”

Both girls deflated with a sigh causing Shelby to chuckle. “Come on you two there’s room behind her for you to snuggle in too.”

Quinn and Santana shared a look then scrambled to the bed. Quinn snuggled into Rachel’s back and Santana into hers, an arm slung over them holding Rachel’s arm. Shelby smiled as they all settled and reached over turning off the light. Tomorrow they would hopefully talk with Judy and Alejandro to find out what is going on with the Berry men and they had to deal with glee and new members. 

She listened as the other two girls’ breathing evened out and sighed in contentment as she let sleep take her as well. The next week had the potential to be hell but she had her daughter back and she would do everything in her power to help her in any way she could. For now she was just going to enjoy holding her baby.

A/N: Ok folks sorry for the delay in my story but here is the newest chapter and I hope you liked it. Up next the New Directions welcome some new members and we find out what happened to the Berry men.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

The next morning was pretty uneventful. They had their morning run then split off like the day before with Puck and Sam keeping Brittany close. Santana was still a nervous wreck but it wasn't as bad as the day before. When it was time for free period Puck and Sam brought Britt to them at Rachel's locker before they all headed to the choir room.

When they entered they could see Mr. Shue in his office looking through the sheet music files. He didn't look very happy and threw Rachel and the girls a weird look before continuing his search.

Quinn sat and pulled Rachel into her lap. "Are you ok Rach? You've been so quiet today."

Rachel sighed and melted into her. "I'm ok, I'm just thinking about my dads. I hope your mom calls tonight to let me know they are ok. I'm just worried."

Quinn kissed her temple and squeezed a little tighter. "I know you are baby but try to stay calm until we know what we're dealing with and we're all here for you no matter what."

Rachel nodded kissing her neck softly and soaked up the comfort. As the bell rang for class to start Coach Sue and Shelby breezed into the room with three Cheerios following. Rachel moved off of Quinn and into her own seat when she saw them.

Sue pulled the three with her and stood in front of the group. "This is Mark, Jeremy and Faith. They will be auditioning today. That gives us 14 members total and seven male female dance couples."

Shelby spoke to all three kids then sat next to Rachel who burrowed into her side with her head on her shoulder holding Quinn's hand. Mr. Shue rolled his eyes at them and turned back to Sue. "We still need to hear them sing Sue."

She just shook her head. "I just said they would be auditioning. Last I was aware everyone who auditions gets in. They are singing together. Faith has the best voice of the three but they can all sing and they dance superbly." She glared at him then turned back to the new kids. She told them to get set up to sing and moved to sit beside Shelby.

Santana got up taking Faith's sheet music giving to the band while Jeremy grabbed a guitar. She nodded to band as Santana sat back down and they started to sing.

Faith/Mark/All Three

Lyin' here with you so close to me  
It's hard to fight these feelings  
When it feels so hard to breathe  
Caught up in this moment  
Caught up in your smile

I've never opened up to anyone  
So hard to hold back  
When I'm holding you in my arms  
We don't need to rush this  
Let's just take it slow

Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight  
Just a touch of the fire burning so bright  
And I don't want to mess this thing up  
I don't want to push too far  
Just a shot in the dark that you just might  
Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life  
So baby I'm alright, with just a kiss goodnight

I know that if we give this a little time  
It'll only bring us closer  
To the love we wanna find  
It's never felt so real  
No it's never felt so right

Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight  
Just a touch of the fire burning so bright  
And I don't want to mess this thing up  
I don't want to push too far  
Just a shot in the dark that you just might  
Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life  
So baby I'm alright, with just a kiss goodnight

No I don't want to say goodnight  
I know it's time to leave,  
But you'll be in my dreams

Tonight  
Tonight  
Tonight

Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight  
Just a touch of the fire burning so bright  
No I don't want to mess this thing up  
I don't want to push too far  
Just a shot in the dark that you just might  
Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life  
So baby I'm alright, oh, let's do this right

With just a kiss goodnight  
With a kiss goodnight  
Kiss goodnight

When the last note played the group was up and clapping madly. Rachel stepped forward as they calmed, "Welcome to Glee. You guys are amazing nailing that three part harmony like that."

They all smiled and Sue stood and ushered them to their seats as the group all sat as well. "Ok, these are the kids I told you I'd bring. Wednesday we are going to do a run through on the songs and get started on the choreography."

Rachel raised her hand and Sue motioned for her to speak. "Britt and Mike have been working on the choreography for the group number and it was ready. We just haven't started rehearsing it yet and she'll need to adjust for all the new members but it should be ready to start on Wednesday. The solo and the duet do not have choreography. I had the thought that if we did the solo first like at Regionals then the group number leaving the duet for last that it would work the best. That way we leave the group on stage during the duet fading the back lights out and lighting them up half way during the end where they all come in for the background vocals."

Sue opened her mouth to speak but Will spoke first. "That's all well and good Rachel but I'm working on another plan."

Sue shook her head. "And what is that plan William? "

He crossed his arm. "I'm still working on it."

Shelby stood and moved to Sue. "I happen to think that Rachel's plan is a good one."

He just scoffed. "Of course you do she's your daughter."

"No, if I didn't like it I would tell her. I would explain why I didn't agree and give an alternative. Can you do that Shuster? Can you tell her what about her plan doesn't work and how to fix it?"

"I don't have to, this is my group and I can plan the routines as I see fit."

Sue smirked and fully turned to him. "No William it is not. It's my group too and according to Figgins I have final say. The routine will be as Rachel has outlined unless I see that it is not working after we try it on Wednesday." She held up a hand stopping him from saying any more and turned back to the group. "Ok guys that is all for today. I will see you in the auditorium on Wednesday for rehearsal."

They all nodded getting up and headed out. Shelby called to Rachel as she moved to leave. "Hey Rachel, can you and the girls hang back for a minute in the hall. I need to talk to you when I am finished talking to Sue."

Rachel nodded and they moved out to the hall to wait. Quinn leaned on the wall and Rachel moved to lean into her. "Do you think everything is ok? She sounded kind of serious."

Quinn shrugged wrapping her arms around her. "We'll know in a minute, don't stress baby."

They heard arguing in the choir room but couldn't make out the words. A few moments later they heard the door to Shue's office slam and Sue and Shelby walked out of the room. Sue gave them a curt nod and headed down the hall.

Shelby pulled Rachel to her and led them to the classroom across the hall. "Ok girls. I talked to Susan and Simon earlier and Brittany is allowed to spend the night tonight with you girls. I have her overnight bag in my car. Judy text me earlier and told me she was going to call around 8:00 our time after dinner and before bed to tell us what is going on with your dads. She didn't tell me anymore but I thought you may want all the girls with you tonight so Susan and I convinced Simon to let her stay."

Rachel sighed. "She didn't tell you how they were or anything at all?"

Shelby shook her head sadly. "No honey she didn't. We'll find out tonight but for now I need to go pick up your sister and got to the store. I'm cooking dinner tonight. If you need me just call."

They all said their goodbyes hugging her and she was off leaving them alone. Rachel looked to Quinn. "Do you think that it's a good or bad thing that she contacted her like that with no information?"

Quinn pulled her out of her chair and into her lap. "I think she just wants to talk to you herself to tell you whatever it is that she has found out. She also knows that you are waiting on pins and needles and if it were me I would want a time that she was calling home to make me feel better so that's what she did. All we can do is wait and see, as much as that sucks."

Rachel nodded and laid her head on her shoulder. Santana moved into her seat and started rubbing her back. "No matter what the news is we are all here for you. We love you Rach."

Brittany nodded happily as she knelt in front of her. "We do and we get to have an unsanctioned week day sleep over. Score for us. See I can use big words too."

Just as she had wanted they all laughed and Rachel sat up and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you."

Smiling they got up and headed to the auditorium to eat the lunch Rachel packed for them. After they ate they relaxed and waited for Puck and Sam to come get Brittany and walk her to class. She was sitting in Santana's lap and they were talking quietly as Rachel was in Quinn's lap doing the same.

Quinn leaned in and kissed her softly on her neck. "We haven't had any real alone time since we talked at the prom."

Rachel looked down into her eyes. "Is everything ok? Was there something else we needed to discuss?"

Quinn smiled and kissed her again. "Nothing super serious I just wanted some time alone with you. What would you say to going on a date with me Friday night? Just you and me."

Rachel beamed. "Oh that sounds divine. I would love to finally go on a date with you. Where are we going?"

Chuckling Quinn leaned in and nipped at her pulse point. "It's a surprise. All I will tell you is to wear the red dress you bought that first time we went shopping. I'll take care of the rest." She still needed to talk to Shelby and her mom but she had a plan B if they said no to plan A.

Rachel huffed playfully. "Fine, I'll just have to be patient I guess." she smirked leaning in biting Quinn's ear gently. "You do know that I really have no patience right?"

Biting back a moan she nodded. "Yes I do know this about you but I also know you love surprises. It's just the anticipation you hate."

Rachel chuckled before moving to her lips and kissing her deeply. "Ok, you're right. What time are we leaving for this date Friday?"

Quinn thought for a moment. "I will get back to you on that. The location is up in the air until I talk to mom tonight but I promise you will love it no matter what."

Rachel just smiled and pecked her on the lips lightly getting up when she heard Puck, Lauren and Sam come it and she pulled Quinn to her feet with her. The rest of the day was quiet and they headed to the house when the last bell rang. When they got home they all headed upstairs to do their homework and wait for dinner.

Quinn and Santana finished first and decided to go down and play with the baby while Rachel helped Brittany with hers. Quinn took the opportunity to talk to Shelby about Friday. She explained that she wanted to take Rachel to Columbus for dinner to distract her and help her relax after all the stress of the last few days. Shelby agreed to let her talk to Judy about it them talk to Judy herself then let her know.

Rachel and Brittany came down right as dinner was coming out of the oven and they all ate. Everyone tried to keep up the conversation wanting to keep Rachel's mind occupied but she was pretty quiet throughout. Once dinner was done they retired into the living room to watch a movie and wait on Judy's call.

At 8:00 on the dot Shelby's phone rang and she handed it to Rachel. "She said to have you answer it honey."

Rachel took a deep breath and hit the call button. "Hello…"

A/N: Hello all I'm back and I hope to be updating more often from now on. Up next we find out what happened to the Berry men.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

At 8:00 on the dot Shelby's phone rang and she handed it to Rachel. "She said to have you answer it honey."

Rachel took a deep breath and hit the call button. "Hello…"

"Hello Princess."

Rachel let out a sob. "Hi daddy, are you ok?"

He smiled to Judy next to him. "Yes princess, I'm ok. I'll be out of here very soon. I can't wait to see you I've missed you so much."

She collapsed with relief into Quinn's lap. "I've missed you too daddy. How is dad, is he ok? Judy said he was hurt worse then you."

Leroy sighed. "He hasn't awoken yet. Alejandro Lopez is talking with his doctors today to see what can be done. They haven't told me a lot. I'm hoping with Judy and Mr. Lopez here I can get some answers."

She leaned fully into Quinn and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Can I come there to you? What happened? Do they know when you will be discharged?"

He chuckled as she fired off questions. "No you need to stay there with Shelby for now. I'm not sure when they are discharging me. It's a long story and I don't have time to get into it right now. I'm going to give the phone to Judy now. She needs to talk to you, Quinn and Shelby. I love you honey and I'll talk to you again as soon as Judy can sneak me the phone again. They don't like us to have them in the room."

Rachel wasn't happy that he was getting off the phone but she understood. She was just so relieved to finally get to hear his voice. "Ok daddy, get better and give dad a kiss for me. Have Judy kiss you for me. I'll talk to you soon. I love you."

"I love you too. Bye baby." He handed the phone to Judy

Judy smiled. "Are you ok Rachel? I thought you might want to talk to him first."

Rachel sat up with a watery smile. "Thank you so much mama J. That was the best surprise ever. Is he really ok?"

"Yes honey he really is. I'm not sure about your dad yet. Alejandro will be talking to his doctors later this afternoon. Its morning here and visiting hours started 30 minutes ago. That's why I had to wait until now to call."

Rachel sighed. "It's ok, I'm just happy I got to talk to him. Please let me know as soon as you can about my dad."

"I will Rach. How are things going there with Shelby? Susan has filled me in on some but I want to know how you are doing with it all."

Rachel smiled, "Everything is going great here. Mom is kind of awesome. She told off Shue and Finn, it was so great."

Judy chuckled, "I heard about that, it sounded pretty great. I wish I had seen it." Judy was hopeful at her calling Shelby mom but she was still weary of the whole thing. "I need to talk to Shelby and Quinn now but I will call you as soon as I know what is going on with Hiram."

"Ok mama J, here's mom. Goodnight and thank you so much."

"You're welcome sweetheart, goodnight and sleep well."

Rachel handed the phone to Shelby and burying her face in Quinn's neck she cried. Quinn pulled her closer and stroked her back. She nuzzled her ear and whispered "Hey that sounded ok. What's wrong baby?"

Rachel took a moment to catch her breath. "It was just… I was so happy to hear his voice… I just hope that dad…"

She broke off and tears started streaming harder. Quinn kissed her temple, "You just have to have faith sweetie. You know that your daddy is going to be ok and Papi is going to talk to your dad's doctors and will figure out how to help him."

Before anymore could be said Selby stuck her head in and called Quinn to her. Santana moved closer lifting Rachel out of her arm and sat back with her so Quinn could get the phone. Shelby handed her the phone and whispered in her ear causing her to bounce excitedly grabbing the phone and rushing out of the room.

Rachel sighed and curled into Santana with Brittany rubbing her back. Shelby came over and knelt in front of her. "Judy will call me again as soon as she knows more. I told her it didn't matter what time so I can hopefully tell you in the morning."

She sat up and leaned over to hug her. "Thank you mom, when Quinn gets done talking to Judy I'm going to head up to bed. It's been a stressful day."

Shelby held her close and kissed her forehead. "Whatever you need, you know where I am if you need me baby."

Rachel nodded and leaned back into Santana. "I know mom thank you."

In the kitchen Quinn was talking to Judy. "Hey mom how are things going there?"

Judy sighed. "They're going I guess. It's hard to get answers and Alejandro is talking about maybe getting them transported back to the states after he knows for sure what is going on with Hiram. I still need to talk to Leroy to get the whole story as to what happened. All I know is that they were in an accident. From my understanding they are pretty far from their work site."

She runs her hands over her tired face and leans back into the chair outside Leroy's room. "But let's talk about you. How are things going back home? How's Rachel been?"

"Things are going ok here. Rachel is understandably stressed and the crap with Mr. Shue, Finn and Glee wasn't helping. Thank god Shelby came in when she did. We thought Rachel was going to either explode or break down. Neither of which was an option we wanted. I was about to kill them all."

Judy chuckled. "I bet, Susan told me all about it. I'm glad she was there too. It's good for Rachel to have adults other than us that are there for her. I'm glad she is stepping up."

Quinn smiled. "She really is. She told me she spoke to you about Friday. I wanted to know if Rachel and I could go to Columbus after school for a few hours."

Judy smirked and couldn't help herself not thinking. "Ah taking her out on a date are we?"

Quinn grew silent then started sputtering. "How..? I didn't even… I wanted to talk to you Sunday but…"

Hearing this Judy realized her mistake. "Hey, stop, calm down baby. I was only teasing you. I didn't mean to upset you. We don't have to talk about that now."

Quinn took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm sorry I just didn't think we'd be having this conversation over the phone. I wanted to talk to you Saturday but everything happened with Rachel's dads and all hell broke loose. Are you ok with it?"

Judy smile. "Ok with you dating Rachel or taking her out to Columbus on a date Friday night?"

"Both?" She chewed on her bottom lip hoping for the answer she was praying for.

"I am more than fine with you dating Rachel. I told you before that I love you and I don't care who you date as long as they are good to you and I love Rachel. As far as this date, I have spoken with Shelby and we decided that it was ok but you have to call her when you get there and then again when you are headed home."

"Thank you mom, Rachel has been so stressed and I just want to take her out away from everything. The Lion King is showing at the performing arts center and I thought I could take her to dinner then to the late showing. We would be getting home around 1:00 or so since the show lets out so late and for drive time. It's our first real date and I just want it to be special." She rushed out all of her plans.

Judy gasped. "You first date? What about prom and I thought Susan said you two and the girls went on a double date Sunday night?"

Quinn just shook her head confused. "We weren't dating yet at prom. She asked me at prom to be her girlfriend and Sunday was just a distraction for Rachel."

"Awe that is so sweet, you're going to have to tell me all about prom when I get home. As far as this date, just let Shelby know all the times and keep in contact with her. That's all she asked for you to take her daughter out of town on a date."

Quinn looked at the phone confused. "Shelby doesn't know we are dating."

Judy chuckled hearing the pout in her voice. "Sweetheart you guys are really obvious. I've known that you liked each other for weeks and the other moms know too. All four of you are kind of oblivious when you are ogling each other. Everyone is ok with it. We were just waiting for you guys to come to us."

Quinn sighed as she deflated sitting in a chair. "Really? Even mama P and mami know about them and they are ok with it?"

"Yes baby we all know, like I said we've known for a long time. We are more than ok with it, we are so happy that you girls seam so happy. Shelby knows too after seeing you guys so close. We told her not to mention anything to any of you unless you came to her about it because you weren't out yet. She promised not to and she's ok with it too."

"We are out now, at school anyway. We kind of outed ourselves at prom. I know that neither of them have talked to their parents but they are planning on it after mami gets home." She took a breath letting all that she had just heard sink in. "Ok, it's a surprise so I'll talk to her away from Rachel so she knows the full plan and I promise to call like she wants."

Judy smiled and got up to go back into Leroy's room. "Ok baby, give Rachel a big hug for me and get some sleep. Go ahead and put Shelby back on the phone then you guys get to bed."

"Ok mom." She took the phone back to Shelby telling her Judy wanted to talk to her.

She and Rachel told the adult good night heading up the stairs. Santana and Brittany had already been sent up by Susan and were waiting for them. Before they went into the room Quinn stopped Rachel outside of the door and pulled her into a hug. "How are you?"

Rachel melted into her. "I'm ok I guess. It was so wonderful to hear daddy's voice but I'm still so worried about dad. I guess I'm just tired and drained from the day."

Quinn pulled her closer and took her mouth in a slow sensual kiss. Rachel moaned into it opening as Quinn ran her tongue over her top lip and begged entrance. They stayed that way just exploring one another until the need for air became too great. When they parted they rested their foreheads together catching their breaths.

Once she recovered for the most part Rachel leaned in and kissed her nose. "Not that I'm complaining but what was that for?"

She just smiled pecking her lips lightly. "No reason really, we have just had zero time alone and I was taking advantage of a moment of alone time before we went in to go to bed with the girls. I talked to mom about Friday and she guessed that it was a date."

Rachel gasped and pulled back slightly to look into her eyes. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes, she said she's known for weeks that we liked each other and was just waiting for me to tell her. Apparently all the moms know about all four of us."

"Are they all ok with it?"

Quinn nodded pulling her back in closer. "Yes but I'm not sure if I should tell San and Britt or not. I mean is it my place?"

Rachel thought for a minute. "Well, if it was you, and Santana knew this, would you want her to tell you so you could stop worrying so much? I know I feel better knowing that your mom is ok with us."

Quinn shrugged. "Your mom is too by the way. Apparently the three other moms threatened her to not say anything when she figured it out. They are all just waiting for us to talk to them but you're right. I need to tell San, she's been a nervous wreck all week thinking of talking to her mom about it. I think it will be easier for her if she knows that her mami figured it out already."

"Mami figured what out already?" They jumped at Santana's voice.

Rachel held a hand to her chest. "Jeez San, scare a girl why don't ya?"

Santana just laughed and Quinn smiled kissing her cheek. "Come on sweetheart let's go tell them all that I learned."

They climbed up on the bed together and Quinn filled them all in on what Judy had told her. When she was done they all just sat absorbing all of it. Santana was the first to speak. "Well, I'm not sure what bothers me more. The fact that all of our mothers have known for like ever and not one of them thought that it might be a good idea to put us out of our misery or that you two have a date and this is the first Brit and I are hearing about it?"

Quinn smiled. "I just asked her today and I was going to tell you guys about it tomorrow when I had the details ironed out."

Rachel leaned into her. "I was going to ask you for help getting ready San. We weren't keeping it from you there's just been a lot going on."

Santana leaned over and hugged her close. "You are forgiven this once. Don't let it happen again."

They both chuckled and moved back to their girls. Brittany smiled next to Santana and took her hand. "You can't be mad at our moms either Santi. They were just letting us come to terms with it letting us come to them. A month ago if mami had come to you and asked if you were a lesbian you would have exploded."

Quinn nudged her lightly. "She has a point San. Just be happy that they are all ok with it and you can talk to mami when she gets home."

Santana scoffs and crosses her arms. "Fine I guess I can understand where they were coming from. Ok, I think that's enough heavy shit for one day. Why don't we get some sleep?"

They all agreed and snuggled down for the night all wrapped up together. This is how Shelby and Susan found them a little while later. Susan smile as they backed out of the room and closed the door. "Maribel is right. Their like a litter of puppies."

Shelby laughs and walked her back down stairs to lock up for the night. "That they are. Whether they are lounging together in the living room watching TV or in bed, when they fall asleep they just end up all over each other. It doesn't matter if it's two of them three or all four."

They both laughed and bid each other goodnight. Shelby finished locking up and went to bed herself hoping for the best when Judy called again about Hiram. Making sure her phone was charging she put it on the nightstand and settled for the night content that for the moment all was well.

A/N: Ok there it is. Up next we find out a bit more about the daddies Berry and Quinn and Rachel have their date.


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

After hanging up with Shelby and the girls Judy walks back into Leroy's room and sits with a tired sigh and closes her eyes as she leans her head back against the wall. Leroy watches her closely for a moment. "Have you slept at all?"

Opening her eyes she turns her head toward him. "Not much. I got the call late after the girls had headed off to prom and was up at the crack of dawn with Shelby trying to figure out what needed to be done. Then Alejandro and I were on a plane the next morning getting here as quick as possible and you know I don't sleep well on planes. It's been a long few days."

Leroy smiled, "Thank you for doing all of this for me. I know it's been a long time but it means the world to me that you are here."

Standing she walked to his bed. "You have always been my best friend and I know if the situations were reversed you would have been there for me too."

He took her hand and brought it to his chest. "Of course," he smiled and squeezed her hand. "Now, what is this about the girls and prom? I didn't even know she and Quinn was friend."

Judy shook her head. "They only became really good friends a couple of months ago. From my understanding they've been tentative friends since sophomore year and being in Glee together but they along with Santana and Brittany have become inseparable. They went as a group to prom."

She pulled out her phone and opened her pictures pulling up a picture of all the girls together. As he looked at it his hand flew to his mouth and a few tears fell. "My god she's so beautiful and that dress. Oh they all look so good. So Santana is Dr. Lopez's daughter. Is that why he's here, because Rachel is close with her?"

"He is her father but he's here for Rachel. When the girls all started hanging out Rachel kind of stole all of our hearts and there isn't one of us that wouldn't do anything for that little girl. Alejandro considers her one of his niῆa's and Brittany's parents love her too. I absolutely adore that kid so she is why we all pulled together to get you both home. She needs you."

He didn't fail to notice the bite in her voice that just got stronger as she continued to speak. "I know you're mad at me…"

She shook her head and cut him off. "I'm not mad, I'm furious with you. How could you leave like that and leave her by herself while you and Hiram run off to another country. Your accident was in February and you left in December. That's two damn months that you left her to fend for herself before all of this happened. How long before you were supposed to be back? She certainly didn't know."

Leroy sighed and bowed his head. "We were on our way back actually. We had stopped off to talk to a supplier of ours then we were going to head back home. We got into the accident before we had a chance to book our flights and make arrangement to leave. Rachel is a very mature girl. Hiram was sure she'd be ok for a little while alone while we took care of business."

Judy looked at him incredulously and dropped his hand. "Are you serious right now? She had just turned 17 years old and you planned to leave her for 3 damned months. Do you have any idea what she has been through since then? She was assaulted twice and had to deal with all of that alone with only Maribel Lopez and myself to stick up for her. She'd never met Maribel before and only met me once briefly. She's had to deal with the repercussions from that since then with William Shuester's dumb ass and just yesterday Shelby had to go into the school and lay a smack down on him and that little son of a bitch Finn Hudson for trying to force her to sing with him after he assaulted her."

Leroy was taken aback and was now pissed. "That little bastard put his hands on her?"

Judy scoffed. "You have no right to be angry. From what I have heard from her talking to Quinn and the girls it had happened before but she was scared to talk to you and your husband about it because of how Hiram reacted to her not wanting you guys to interfere with something going on at school freshman year with her clothing. She thought he would blame her for not stick up for herself in the first place and not care or do anything about it. Apparently she feels like all either of you care about is her singing stuff. Other than that you both ignore her and she's just left to do her own thing."

He looked up shock like he'd been slapped. "We never would have allowed that to happen if we had known. I care about everything concerning my daughter. Yes Hiram was upset about her not letting us go up to the school because she was having slushies thrown at her several times a day. I didn't fully understand why she wouldn't let us help or why he thought it necessary for him to make her dress the way he did but she has always know she could talk to us."

"Obviously not because she didn't come to you when her boyfriend was hurting her. She hid it and just took it until he did it twice front of others after they were broken up. Santana saw it the first time and wanted to kill him but Rachel talked her into letting it go but the second time it happened he did it in front of most of the Glee Club. Puck and Sam held him back from trying to get to her more and Lauren had to hold Santana back from killing him. Quinn was held back by Rachel until she found out about the first incident and she kicked him in the family jewels as Mr. Shuester came back into the room."

"What was his punishment for all this?"

She shook her head sadly. "Not enough as far as I was concerned. He had a two week suspension and a month of detention and not being allowed to be in glee or basketball. He came back to Glee yesterday and immediately became a problem again. That's when Shelby stepped in. He has now been banned from extracurricular activities and is no longer allowed in glee. His parents told him if he has any more problems at school they are sending her to military school and they have him in anger management classes per Maribel's warning of all of us pressing charges since he pushed Santana and grabbed Quinn too. Neither of our girls were hurt but Rachel had horrible marks on both arms."

Leroy was fuming at the lack of punishment. "That's not enough."

Judy just shrugged. "I didn't think so either but I didn't have a parent for her to back us up. You weren't there."

He sat up angrily. "I didn't have my memory Judy. How was I supposed to help? Hiram is in a coma for god sakes."

She was livid now. "You shouldn't have left her alone in the first place. One of you should have been home with her. Before I left I had to complete the bank account you failed to set up for her so she had money to live on. Your credit card you had all of the stores and restaurants linked with expired and she was left with eating pizza or going to the grocery store and that card expires next month. I didn't know all of this until later. Quinn and I bought her Prom dress and took it to the goodwill for her to pick out so she had a nice dress because she wouldn't have taken charity. Santana took all her old clothes to goodwill for Rachel to buy so she could look like a normal kid. I don't understand why this all had to happen like this."

Leroy sighed and lay back. "Hiram was sure that if we gave a little tough love that she would come around but she never did. I'm sorry all of that happened but I had to work and I didn't have anyone to stay with her. I never meant for any of this to happen but who are you to talk? You let your husband kick your daughter out on the streets pregnant."

Judy deflated slightly. "All I am hearing is Hiram this and Hiram that. I know I failed at being a mother myself when I let that son of a bitch kick out my baby but I corrected that and got rid of his ass and brought my daughter home. I'm still making up for that and I will regret it for the rest of my life but I am fixing it."

She took a breath and walked a few steps away to calm herself down a bit. "There are two of you. If you had to work Hiram should have stayed with her. He does your books; he could have done that from home while you took care of the problem on site."

Leroy looked away. "Hiram has never stayed alone with Rachel for more than a day at a time. It makes him nervous."

Judy scoffed and sat. "You and I both know that man never wanted children. He only let you do it to shut you up. That's why he didn't let you use his sperm only yours. I'm sorry but you know I'm right. But even so he agreed to it. You can't just have kids and leave them alone when it is inconvenient for you."

Leroy looked back to her with his eyes swimming. "I know. We were actually fighting about that when we had the accident. Hiram wanted to take an extra week for a mini vacation and I wanted to get home to Rachel. We got in to a big fight about it. While we were arguing he ran a stop sign because he wasn't paying attention and a truck hit us on his side."

Judy stood and walked back over to him and took his hand again. "I know it's hard but maybe it's time to make a choice." Leroy nodded holding on to her hand for dear life and she continued. "Let's just wait and talk to Alejandro and the other doctors. Let's get you both well and home then you can figure out the rest but Rachel needs to start coming first."

With a sigh he settled back and closed his eyes. "I wholeheartedly agree."

Judy pushed his hair out of his face and leaned over to hug him. "I missed you; you idiot."

He smiled and hugged her tight. "I missed you too."

They pulled apart and looked to the door as Alejandro walked it. Leroy sat back forward. "How's Hiram?"

Alejandro came in fully and sat in the chair next to the bed. "We need to talk…"

Judy and Leroy shared a look then gave him their attention. With a sigh he started talking.

In Lima the girls got up and Shelby informed Rachel that Judy hadn't called back yet but that she would come to the school and let her know if she did before Glee practice. Once they ate breakfast they were off to the school for their morning run. Puck and the boys once again joined them but sat on the bleachers talking and kept an eye on them from there.

The school day was pretty calm and no one had said anything to any of them about what happened at prom but Santana still worried about Brittany. They did get a few looks and they could tell that some of the students were talking about them but they didn't care as long as they were left alone. Before they knew it the end of the day was there and it was time for glee. When they entered the auditorium they were the first there and they sat talking.

Rachel had been pretty quiet all day again and as they sat Quinn wrapped her arm around her. "Hey, she'll call soon. I'm sure your dad will be ok."

Rachel gave a half smile and leaned into her. "I can't help but worry. I may not be as close to my dad as I am to my daddy but I love him and I need him to be ok."

Quinn kissed her temple softly. "I know you do baby."

Before anymore can be said the rest of the group followed by Sue, Shelby and Shue came in. Rachel locked eyes with Shelby who shook her head sadly that Judy hadn't called yet. On a sigh she deflated back into Quinn and gave her attention to Coach and Shue up front.

Sue looked around as they all got settles. "Ok, I talked with Mike and Brittany earlier today and they are ready to teach you the routine for the group number. Rachel and Santana also said that the music is ready as well. I want to spend the first part of practice working on the vocals so that we can have a good handle on them for when we start the routine."

Santana raised her hand and Sue motioned for her to talk. "All of us but the newbies have been working on the Lyrics already on our own time. We have the song down…"

Mr. Shue stepped forward and cut her off. "How have you been doing that without the male lead singing his part? And now we don't even have a male lead."

Santana smirked and shrugged. "We had Puck singing all the parts that were supposed to be for him so we could practice and be prepared. Besides that song highlights mostly Britt and Artie with the rest of us are just mixed in for a line or two."

Before Shuester could reply Sue cut in. "We do have a male lead. I sent out an email to all the members this morning for a vote and they all agree that the male lead should be Puckerman and co-captain should go to Santana since she and Rachel take care of most of your music arrangements and such. Shelby and I also agreed that he has the strongest male voice of the group and Santana is a natural leader and a wiz with music as is Rachel."

He looked to her fuming. "Why wasn't I a part of all of this?"

"Because William when I came to find you this morning to talk about this you were too busy with Erma and blew me off. We don't have time for procrastination so I went ahead and sent out the emails then talked to Shelby before class when I once again tried to talk to you only for you to tell me you couldn't talk right then. So Puckerman is lead and Santana is co-captain."

The group clapped and congratulated them as Shue scowled but said no more. There really was no point. Sue smirked at him as the kids calmed down. "Ok, give the newbies a copy of the music and get on the stage."

Rachel stood and smiled. "I gave it to them yesterday after our meeting with a copy of the background track so they could look it over." She turned to the others. "Let show them what we have guys."

They all cheered and quickly made their way to the stage. They got in formation setting the new kids in place and sang just standing in place for now to let them get use to singing with them.

Sue and Shuester sat at the directors' table in the middle of the auditorium while Shelby stood in the back so she could get a full idea about their projection of sound. As they sang and started to come to the end of the song and Rachel took the lead she just stared in awe. She would never stop being amazed at her daughter's talent that just seems to improve more and more as time goes on.

As they finished Shelby and Sue clapped but Will stood and walked toward the stage. "Why did you change it? That is not how it was originally written. Rachel is not supposed to take lead like that at the end. It's supposed to be Tina."

Santana stepped forward. "Originally it was but after we rehearsed it, it just didn't sound right."

Tina moved up next to Rachel putting a hand on her back. "I don't have the power she does for what the song needs so I gave the part over to her."

He just shook his head. "That's not ok. It was written for you Tina and you don't have to give it up to anyone, that's a big part."

Tina looked a confused. "I know I didn't but it was my choice and my idea to have her try it instead of me. It sounds better this way. When I sang it, it just didn't sound right so we switched. I took her part in the song and she took mine. We all agreed that it was better that way."

Before he could say more Sue cut in. "Who wrote this song?"

Will waved her away dismissively. "The whole group did."

Puck scoffed. "It was mostly Santana, Brittany, Rachel and Quinn with a little bit of feedback from the rest of us. We all agreed that it was better with Rachel singing that part."

Shue opened his mouth and Shelby stepped up and beat him to it. "Sing it again with Tina and Rachel switching back so we can hear what you are talking about."

They all agreed and got set back on stage and the track was restarted. They did a full run through with the switch and Shelby nodded her head and looked to Tina. "I see what you are talking about. There is nothing wrong with it this way but it is just a more powerful ending the other way. Making it stand out more."

Tina smiled. "That's what I said too. I like it better with Rachel singing it. I think it gives us an edge and puts our captain front and center when it all ends."

The other all voiced their agreement and Shue shook his head. "It was fine this way."

Sue nodded. "Yes it was fine this way but it was exceptional the other way and I don't know about you but I want to win so they will be doing it the other way. The group wrote the song and the group agreed to the change. It's up to them."

Shelby was now on stage talking to the new kids and turned to Sue. "I think we should run it again the way they first sang it then start the choreography. These guys worked last night and have a good handle on the lyrics so we should move on."

Sue turned to her. "I agree, let's run it again then B, boy Chang can get them started."

As they set it again Shue sits in exasperation and just folds his arms over his chest as they sing it again. Once they are done Shelby and Sue join them on stage as Brittany and Mike start teaching the choreography but Will stays in his seat just watching. When time runs down and practice is over the kids all head out, it was a really good start of their routine.

Shelby walks over to a dejected looking Rachel and gives her a hug. "Don't pay him any mind sweetie. You just do your thing and you let Sue and I deal with him."

Rachel nodded into her chest and sighed. "I just don't know what I ever did for him to act this way toward me."

Quinn came up behind her and wrapped her arms around both of them. "You didn't do anything Rach."

Shelby smiled as Rachel relaxed into her more when Quinn molded to her back. "Ok, now you guys need to go on home. I'm going to pick up your sister and some pizzas for dinner and I'll see you in a bit. Susan is coming over later as well."

They all agreed and headed for Rachel's. Shelby waits until they are all out of the auditorium then shares a look with Sue before walking up to Will. "I don't know what your problem with my daughter is and I don't really care but if you don't lay off of her I will be talking to Figgins. She is going through enough right now she doesn't need a teacher giving her such a hard time."

He just scoffed and shook his head. "I am still a coach here and I can ask questions when the kids change things without running it by either coach."

Shelby just looks at him like he's grown two heads. "They wrote the damn song Will. They can change it if they want but regardless of anything else. Back. Off. My. Daughter or I will slap a lawsuit on you so fast your head will spin."

He moved a step closer and right in her face. "Are you threatening me?"

She just chuckled humorlessly. "No, not at all, I'm promising you that if you don't lay off Rachel I will have your job." With that she grabbed her bag and stormed out of the auditorium.

Shue just watched her go and jumped slightly as Sue spoke beside him. "I think if I were you I'd listen to that woman." She chuckled as she walked away leaving a pissed and now really nervous Will in her wake.

As Shelby got into her car her phone rang and recognizing the ringtone as Judy's she quickly picked it up and answered. "Hello?"

"Hey Shelby, are the girls with you right now?"

"No, Glee just let out and I'm headed to pick up Beth. The girls are headed home to Rachel's."

Judy sighed and Shelby could hear the fatigue in her voice. "Ok, I'll call later to talk to Rachel but here's what's going on."

A/N: Ok there it is. Up next we find out exactly what is wrong with Hiram and the date is still to come.


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee or any of it characters.

As Shelby got into her car her phone rang and recognizing the ringtone as Judy's she quickly picked it up and answered. "Hello?"

"Hey Shelby, are the girls with you right now?"

"No, Glee just let out and I'm headed to pick up Beth. The girls are headed home to Rachel's."

Judy sighed and Shelby could hear the fatigue in her voice. "Ok, I'll call later to talk to Rachel but here's what's going on."

Shelby sat in the driveway for a few with her head resting on the steering wheel. She had to go in and talk to Rachel to let her know what was going on with Hiram but she needed a minute to compose herself so she could. She had gone to Susan's to talk to her and Simon agreed to watch Beth for a little bit while Susan was set to follow shortly to talk to Rachel with her.

As Susan pulled in Shelby finally got out of the car and met her at the edge of drive. "Are you sure that Simon's ok with all the kids?"

Susan waved off her concern. "He's fine, the man should have been a teacher or something. Kids adore the goof. She's fine let's go take care of your other daughter."

Shelby sighed and they walk into the house. As soon as the girls saw them both they know something was up because Susan wasn't supposed to be coming over tonight. Rachel looked from one to the other uneasily. "What's wrong?"

Shelby took her hand, "Let's sit."

Rachel nodded and they all moved to the living room Rachel sat next to Quinn on the couch and Shelby sat in front of them on the coffee table taking both of her hands. "Judy called earlier to let me know what Alejandro had to say about your dad. After running a bunch of tests he's positive that there is some kind of buildup or blockage in his brain that is causing him not to wake up. He thinks that it is imperative that he have surgery within the next week."

Rachel sat forward. "Is he going to be ok?"

Shelby sighed cupping her check. "We don't know. He does say that we need to get him back in the states for the surgery. They are not equipped where he is right now to do what is needed. He wants to fly him home and do the surgery himself in Columbus or here in Lima. Your daddy is making the choice of where and they will be putting him on a medical transport plane in the next day or so."

Rachel leaned into Quinn wiping the tears from her face. "What about daddy?"

"Judy is staying with him until he is able to fly, which should be in a few days. She said if they can leave by Friday they could be home by Monday. Alejandro is hoping to do the surgery no later than Tuesday. The surgery is very dangerous but if they do nothing he will not survive baby."

Rachel nodded trying not to completely break down. "How confident is he that the surgery will work?"

Shelby looked to Susan then back to Rachel. "He says he has a 50-75% chance of survival with it and 0 without it and even if he does survive there is still a chance that he may have deficits."

Rachel stood walking toward the kitchen waving off the girls. "I need a minute."

Shelby watched her go and put her face in her hands trying to calm herself as tears started to fall. "I hated telling her that but I will not lie to her."

Quinn took her hand and squeezed it before standing. "You did the right thing Shelby. She needed to know. Now we just need to be there for her." She walked into the kitchen and over to the window over the sink. Rachel was on the back deck sitting on the steps.

As her shoulders began to shake Quinn couldn't take it anymore and went out to her. When she sat beside her Rachel looked up and falls into her on a sob. "He… can't die."

Quinn pulled her into her lap and held her close. "You have to think positive baby. Papi is one of the best head doctors in the country. They'll bring him home and Papi will do his thing and we'll just pray as hard as we can."

Rachel buried her face in her neck and sighed. "I love you Quinn, please don't leave me."

Quinn picked up her face by her chin to look into her eyes. "I love you so much Rachel. You my love are stuck with me. I'm not going anywhere and I will be by your side for as long as you'll let me."

Crushing their lips together Rachel buried her hands in Quinn's hair and kissed her for all she was worth. Breaking away she sobbed and fell into Quinn again. "I'm so scared."

Quinn tightened her arms and rocks her gently. "I know baby, I know." She didn't know what else she could say so she just held her and let her get it all out.

From the window Shelby, Susan and the girls watched on with tears in their own eyes. Shelby sighed, "I can't stand this. I feel so helpless."

Susan rubbed her back in agreement and comfort. Santana stood there just vibrating with nervous energy. "I can't just stand here. I… I just… No I can't do it."

Before they even realize what was happening she's out the door, Brittany hot on her heels. They plopped down on either side of the girls and wrapped around them. Rachel peaks out seeing Santana and leaned into her from her spot on Quinn's lap while Brittany rubbed her legs. None of them said a word.

Susan gave Shelby a one armed hug before pulling her away from the window. "Come on. The girls have her for now. Let's get some dinner made because regardless of whether she wants it or not she needs to eat. Simon will bring Beth later unless you want me to keep her tonight."

Shelby took one last longing look at Rachel then followed. "No, Beth can come home with us, it'll be fine. Let's figure out food. Is Brittany staying the night or going home?"

She shrugged. "Simon wanted her to come home but I talked him into letting her stay. She doesn't sleep at all at home when something bad is happening. That's why I've been letting her stay. Otherwise I'd have a zombie on my hands. She loves them all so much. She, San, and Q are in protection mode around Rachel. It's like it's ingrained in them that their world revolve around her right now."

Taking some things out of the fridge she turned back to Shelby. "I've seen them go into protection mode over San too when her grandmother was causing crap and I've heard what they do to kids at school if they hurt or upset one of them. A while back Britt was dating that boy Artie and he called her stupid. That did not go over well. Rachel tore him a new one in the halls and Quinn called an all-out war on the boy for a while."

"You heard what happened with that Finn boy when he hurt Rachel at Regionals. Santana was physically held back, but Quinn was able to get a shot in. Britt was holding a crying Rachel the whole time. From what Britt told me there was also an incident with Finn grabbing Quinn. Santana was held back then too, and Rachel ended up comforting Quinn that time. They take care of each other, when one of them hurts they all hurt or they hurt the one who's responsible." She shrugged moving to the counter.

Shelby looked toward the window. "That's kind of weirdly codependent isn't it?"

Susan shook her head, "No, that's family. They are fiercely loyal and protective. Maribel and I are the same way so is Judy now that she finally found her backbone again. You… you I'm still holding a verdict on but you have moved up in my book since this all started."

Shelby chuckled lightly. "I'm happy to hear it. All I care about is getting Rachel through this."

"And after it's all done? What then?" She eyed her while chopping vegetables.

Shelby sighed looking back to the window again. "I'll do whatever she wants. I screwed up with her once already but I want to do better. We've talked about all of that and I'll be all that she needs me to be. I just want to be her mom."

Susan nodded satisfied with that answer and they looked up as the door opened and all of the girls file in. Rachel walked straight into Shelby's arms and sank into her. "Where's Beth? I need my little sister cuddles."

Shelby smiled running her hand through her hair. "She's with Simon but you can get your cuddles in a little while when he brings her home."

Rachel smiled into her chest. "Ok, I think we're going to go up for a while. We still have homework and hopefully it will take my mind of things until Mama J calls with more information."

Hugging her once more she detached herself moving to Susan to kiss her check then headed upstairs with the girls following. Once upstairs they sprawled on her bed with their schoolbags as set to finish their work. Rachel finished hers quickly and turned to Brittany to help her. Once they are finished she looked to the other two seeing them still working.

Smiling she curled into Quinn's side as she worked and dozed off and on until she felt lips pressed her own. She sighed as the lips disappear and opened her eyes to see Quinn hoovering above her, "Hey."

Quinn smiled nipping her chin. "Hey, Shelby said dinner will be ready in a few."

Rachel nodded wrapping her arms around Quinn's neck then looked around confused. "Where are San and Britt?"

Leaning back in she ghosts her lips over Rachel's. "They went downstairs so Britt could spend some time with her mom."

Grinning, she pulled Quinn the rest of the way down and eliminated the space between their lips. It almost instantly deepened and Rachel could not get close enough. She ran her hands down and around to Quinn's back and pulled trying to eliminate the space Quinn was keeping between them.

Quinn pulled her mouth away, "I don't want to crush you baby."

Rachel shook her head rapidly and pulled once more raking her nails down her back and sides, "You won't. I need to feel you, please Quinn."

With a nod she rests her body fully on top of Rachel and they both groaned at the feel before they attack each other once more. The kiss deepened as Quinn ran a hand up Rachel's chest to caress her throat. Rachel dragged her nails down her back once more stopping at the gentle swell of her ass taking a cheek in each hand and pulling her closer. She shifted one leg causing Quinn to straddle the other and one of her legs to be nestled against her core.

Ripping her mouth away Rachel moaned breathlessly, "Quinn!"

Quinn pressed her forehead to Rachel's trying to catch her own breath at the feel of Rachel's strong thigh against her as well. "Jesus Rachel."

They lay there for a moment looking into each other's eyes then dove back in. As they devoured one another they moved together rubbing against each other's thigh. They knew they are not ready for things to go any further but damn. Eventually they slowed their kisses and stopped the movement of their bodies.

Quinn detached with a soft kiss to her chin and smiled. "I love you Rachel."

Rachel beamed kissing her lips lightly. "I love you too."

Not being able to resist she pulled her back down and kissed her deeply once more. Quinn moaned into her matching her intensity for a moment before ripping her lips away on a groan of disapproval but knows she had to do it. "God baby we need to stop."

Rachel tried to catch her breath holding her shoulders, "I know I'm sorry. It's just… I waited so long to kiss you and now that I can and I know you love me as much as I love you I want to kiss you all of the time."

Quinn shook her head pecking her nose. "Don't apologize for loving me so much you don't want to stop kissing me. I'm just as much at fault. I don't want to stop either."

Rolling off, she pulled Rachel over with her and settled her into her side as they calmed down. "We need to head downstairs. Dinner will be ready soon and Beth is back for your cuddle needs."

Rachel chuckled nuzzling into her neck. "I think all my cuddle needs are being met right here."

Laughing Quinn climbed out of bed pulling Rachel with her. "Come on let's go eat, you can cuddle me and Beth after dinner while we rock her to sleep."

Rachel smiled following after, "That sounds like heaven to me."

Once they made it down stairs dinner was ready and they all sat to eat. Judy called right after they finished eating but the only thing new she had to say was that LeRoy decided to do the surgery in Lima because Alejandro would be doing the surgery either way and this way they didn't have to go to Columbus as much and Rachel would miss less school.

Rachel and Quinn took Beth upstairs afterward they hung up with Judy for a bath and to put her to bed while the others cleaned up. Shelby came up to check on them after she had finished downstairs to find Beth in her pack-n-play sleeping and Quinn and Rachel sound asleep in the middle of her bed.

She smiled and went back down stairs to the others. "They are all asleep in my room. I think she's ok for the night."

Susan stood looking to Brittany. "Ok baby I think it's time for me to go and let Shelby and you girls get some rest."

Brittany looked up with sad eyes. "Ok mom, can I stay tomorrow too?"

She nodded her head and sighed. "I'm not sure your father will let you stay tomorrow too. You may have to wait and come back Friday and maybe Santana will take you on a date too while Quinn and Rachel are out."

She winked at Santana and Brittany just smiled. After talking to Quinn finding out that all the moms already knew Brittany and Santana talked to Susan and Simon about them dating and were planning on talking to Maribel and Alejandro as soon as they were home too. Simon and Susan just chuckled at them and thanked them for finally coming clean.

She got up to walk her mom out still unhappy about not getting to stay tomorrow and Santana stood with her. "It's ok baby, I'll take you to the pond after school to feed the ducks and you can pick anywhere you want to go to dinner."

Brittany bounced excitedly and hugged her close. "Oh those are always the best dates." Santana smiled and they walked to the door.

Susan chuckled after her daughter and turned to Shelby. "I guess they've been dating long enough that it doesn't have to be as elaborate as what Quinn is planning."

They both laughed as Shelby walked her out and she and the girls locked up after hugging her goodbye. "I'm not going to wake them so if you two want you can get dressed for bed and come lay with us."

They shared a smile and Santana looked to her as they started up the stairs. "Thanks Miss C, I think we'll do that."

After getting ready for bed Shelby settled in and smiled as Santana and Brittany came in. Santana climbed in to bed and curled up to Rachel's other side effectively sandwiching her between her and Quinn than Brittany spooned her from behind. Shelby knew that the next week would be hell with the Berry men coming home and Hiram's surgery but all she cared about was that Rachel was ok. Being totally exhausted as well sleep found her quickly as she prayed that everything turned out for the best.

A/N: Ok there it is. Up next the date.


End file.
